The spotlight fixture of the day was held at 7:30pm as the first seeded entry in the women’s team event, composed of Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu faced the third placed team of Liu Fei, Wang Yidi and Qian Tianyi.
Doubles opened the proceedings as Chen Meng and Wang Manyu paired up in opposition to Wang Yidi and Qian Tianyi. All-square at six points apiece in game one, Wang Yidi and Qian Tianyi went on to drop one further point but that was all, taking the lead in style. Off to a slow start, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu began to turn the match around in their favour after making some slight adjustments, winning the following three games to put their team ahead 1-0 (7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9).
“The opponent paid more attention to preparations, so they played very well. We didn’t seem to be well prepared. After that, we made changes… The tactics changed on the spot based on the first game.” Wang Manyu
The second encounter of the match saw Sun Yingsha take on Liu Fei. Showcasing her unforgiving forehand ability, Sun needed just three games to seal victory (11-6, 11-3, 11-4) to pile the pressure on the challengers.
Just one more win required to send the first team through to the final, step forward Chen Meng to complete the job! Facing Qian Tianyi, World no.1 Chen Meng controlled the play from start to finish and emerged the deserved victor ( 11-5, 11-7, 11-7).
“After the singles match I played against her, I made adjustments and changes in my preparation and tactics, because before playing with her, I felt that the entire rhythm was not particularly good, and the line of the left-handed player’s shot was still a problem.” Chen Meng
In the men’s team race an exciting quarter-final contest was settled as the trio of Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin and Lin Gaoyuan showed their strength.
Meeting the third seeded team of Yan An, Zhou Qihao and Liu Dingshuo in what was anticipated to be a tight encounter, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin and Lin Gaoyuan excelled expectations to secure a comfortable 3-0 win and earn their place in the semi-finals.