The 2024 Ping Pong Super League ushered in its peak confrontation during the New Year's Day festivities. In the men's team final held in the evening, Shandong Weiqiao, who had won the Ping Pong Super League championship twice before, faced off against Huangshi Base Huaxin Men's Team, who had achieved an impressive eight consecutive victories in the first stage. In the first doubles match between the two sides, Liang Jingkun and Lin Yuner fought through five tough sets to narrowly defeat Xiang Peng and Xue Fei, helping Shandong Weiqiao get off to a good start. The second match saw the top singles players of the two teams, Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong, engage in a thrilling showdown. In this match, Wang Chuqin started poorly, allowing Lin Shidong to easily win the first set. However, as the game progressed, Wang Chuqin found his form and after a grueling five-set battle, emerged victorious with a score of 3-2, demonstrating his dominance as the world's number one player!
Lin Shidong, tasked with the responsibility of leveling the big score for his team, quickly found his rhythm in the first set, using quick attacks in the first three boards and precise returns to suppress Wang Chuqin, the world's number one ranked player, establishing an early lead of 6-1. As the game progressed, Wang Chuqin also gradually found his footing, unleashing the threat of his backhand twist to several times reduce the gap to just 2 points. However, at the crucial moment, Lin Shidong made several low-level mistakes, allowing Wang Chuqin to stabilize and win the first set 11-6.
In the second set, Wang Chuqin's state showed a marked improvement. Not only did he control his errors, but he also used his control in the first three boards to create many opportunities for consecutive forehand smashes. After a streak of successful plays, he quickly established a dream start of 4-0. However, Lin Shidong did not lose heart and, through feints that repeatedly caused Wang Chuqin to lose his balance, quickly caught up to 4-6. Despite Wang Chuqin's immediate response with a scoring spree to widen the gap again, Lin Shidong managed to close the score to 8-9 in the final stages of the set, forcing Wang Chuqin to call a timeout for adjustments. Returning to the court, Wang Chuqin withstood the pressure and leveled the big score with a 12-10 victory.
In the critical third set, Lin Shidong made a good start, using long shots down the middle to restrict Wang Chuqin's play, then splitting the corners with wide-angle chops to take two points in a row and suppress Wang Chuqin. However, Wang Chuqin quickly turned the tide with his signature backhand twist, responding with a 3-0 run to overtake the score at 3-2. After Lin Shidong scored another point to level the score, Wang Chuqin initiated another continuous scoring mode, leading 10-3 at the end of the set with ease and winning 11-4, advancing first into his match point set.
Wang Chuqin, fully aware of Lin Shidong's abilities, showed no slack in the fourth set. Through patient control and decisive attacking, he started with a 2-1 lead over Lin Shidong. With no room for further losses, Lin Shidong also called a timeout for adjustments. After the game resumed, Lin Shidong increased his serve variations and successfully extended his life with an 11-6 victory.
In the decisive fifth set, the two players immediately engaged in a thrilling multi-shot rally, with Lin Shidong taking the first point. However, Wang Chuqin quickly responded with higher quality attacks, overtaking the score to 6-2 in the middle of the set and sealing the victory with an 11-5 win.
With Wang Chuqin's victory over Lin Shidong in this men's singles peak confrontation, Shandong Weiqiao is now just one step away from their third Ping Pong Super League championship title in team history. In the third match, Liang Jingkun will compete again, facing off against Xue Fei from Huangshi Base Huaxin. Whether "Big Fat" can clinch the championship with a decisive blow remains to be seen. Let's wait and see.