India, here we go! Defending champions China kicked off their campaign at the Asian Table Tennis Team Championships in style, booking a 3-1 win over Iran and a date with Japan in the semis! 🏓🎉
The match’s opening battle saw world No.2 Lin Shidong face 15-year-old Iranian prodigy Benyamin Faraji. Faraji pulled off the upset of the day, edging Lin 3-2 and putting Iran ahead early.
China struck back when world No.7 Liang Jingkun leveled the tie with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Noshad Alamian (8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 13-11). Talk about a comeback! 💪
Then world No.1 Wang Chuqin made it look easy, sweeping Amir Hodeyi in straight games to push China in front.
With the pressure on, Lin Shidong returned and fired off a clean 3-0 win against Alamian, sealing the 3-1 triumph and a semifinal clash with Japan. Get ready for a ping-pong showdown! 🔥
On the women’s side, last year’s runners-up China cruised past Thailand 3-0. World No.2 Wang Manyu started strong, followed by world No.1 Sun Yingsha’s tight 3-0 win and world No.4 Kuai Man’s solid finish. Next stop: South Korea in the semis on Tuesday!
Stay tuned as Asia’s table tennis titans battle for glory in the semis! 🚀
Reference(s):
China beat Iran for semis at Asian Table Tennis Team Championships
cgtn.com
