By Henry Chen
Shandong Weiqiao absorbs Ningbo lineup
Ma Long and company are still intact in this season’s league competition. However, they are not playing under the Ningbo Team anymore. They are now playing for Shandong Weiqiao.
Today, Weiqiao’s team leader Ma Long encountered some troubles in the arena. He lost to Liu Jikang in 13-15, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11 in the first match. Lin Gaoyuan came to the rescue and won the second point against Cui Qinglei in 3-1.
Shenzhen got the Doubles match with their tandem Liu Jikang and Ren Hao winning in 2-0.
Ma Long returned into the arena for the fourth match and this time, he was better. He finished the proceedings in a commanding score of 3-0 against Cui Qinglei (13-11, 11-7, 11-7).
Bayi off with a good start against Jiangsu
Off from his victory in Saarbrücken, Germany, Fan Zhendong imposed authority over his opponents today. He offered two points for Bayi by winning against Kong Lingxuan (3-1) and against Zheng Peifeng (3-0).
With the opening victory from Zhou Yu , Bayi won the round in 3-1.
Shanghai pleases home crowd with a victory
Shanghai had the home-court advantage in the opening round of the competition. They played against Sichuan. Today, Xu Xin was in a good condition and remained victorious in his two matches.
Xu Xin got the opener with a 3-1 victory against Lai Jiaxin. Shang Kun followed and had a commanding performance in the arena against Zhu Linfeng (3-0).
Sichuan got their opportunity in the Doubles. Their tandem Yan Sheng and Xu Ruifeng used such advantage well and offered the first point for Sichuan.
Xu Xin returned into the arena and ended the match with a sweeping performance against Zhu Linfeng. Shanghai posted a 3-1 victory.
Shandong records powerful start without Zhang Jike
Shandong Luneng will be participating in this season’s proceedings without the Grand Slam champion Zhang Jike. However, it seems that the team can actually manage without their former team leader.
Today, they crushed their opponents from Tianjin in a perfect 3-0.
Fang Bo started off with a clean sweep against Fang Yinchi, then followed by another sweeping win from Zhang Chao against Ma Te. Zhang Chao and Hao Shuai partnered for the Doubles and finished today’s match with 2-1.
Bazhou withstands opening challenge from hosts
The Bazhou Team played as guests in the opening round of the league today. As expected, the hosts, Anhui, did not give them an easy fight. The opening match proved to be challenging for Zhou Qihao (Anhui) and Liang Jingkun (Bazhou).
The opener was stretched into a decider with Liang Jingkun winning with scores 7-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 7-4. It was an amazing recovery from Liang.
Wong Chun Ting was the second player for the hosting team tonight. He faced Fan Shengpeng. Despite winning the bronze medal from Saarbrücken, Wong Chun Ting failed to impose authority on his opponent. Fan Shengpeng sealed the match with 3-1.
Fan Shengpeng partnered with Cheng Jingqi for the Doubles. Together, they sealed a powerful 2-0 victory. Bazhou upsets the host’s crowd in 3-0.
Find the detailed results here CTTSL Men R1.