On December 30th, Beijing time, the second stage of the 2024 season of the Chinese Ping Pong Super League welcomed the finals. Today's first match was the women's team semi-final between Shenzhen University and Shanghai Longteng.
For Shanghai Longteng, this is their first time entering the finals. Although their lineup does not include the main players from the national team, it is still relatively balanced. He Zhuojia and Liu Weishan are also quite capable, having advanced to the finals after finishing third in the first stage.
After the addition of Sun Yingsha, Shenzhen University has become a strong team, reaching the finals multiple times. This time they are also a strong contender for the championship. Looking at the strength, Shenzhen University has an advantage, with Kuai Man and Tan Yuxuan also having strong competitiveness.
In the first match, Kuai Man/Tan Yuxuan faced Chen Yi/Liu Weishan. The first game started with a close 3-3 score, basically reaching the stalemate stage, 7-7. Later, Kuai Man/Tan Yuxuan scored four consecutive points to win 11-7. Chen Yi/Liu Weishan made mistakes later, and their serve-receive handling was not ideal.
In the second game, Chen Yi/Liu Weishan had a good start at 4-0, playing aggressively and maintaining the lead at 7-3. Their connection speed was also fast, completely dominating the game and easily winning back with a score of 11-4.
In the third game, Kuai Man/Tan Yuxuan readjusted, starting with a 5-1 lead. Unfortunately, they made mistakes later and were caught up to 6-6. They lost their state and lost 8-11. In the fourth game, Kuai Man/Tan Yuxuan fell behind 5-8 but then scored five consecutive points to overtake 10-8. However, they lost four consecutive points again and lost the first match with a score of 10-12.
In the second match, Sun Yingsha faced He Zhuojia, two players with completely different styles, one attacking and the other defending. Sun Yingsha was always leading at the beginning, with a mid-game score of 6-3. Later, she made mistakes and was chased to 6-6. He Zhuojia used her spin changes to surpass 10-8 and take the set point. Sun Yingsha's forehand attack was powerful, leveling the score at 10-10, but He Zhuojia still won the first game with a score of 12-10. In this game, Sun Yingsha did not perform well, making too many mistakes.
In the second game, Sun Yingsha started with a 4-1 lead, playing more steadily with more varied lines. He Zhuojia's counterattacks continued to make mistakes, while Sun Yingsha steadily widened the score to 8-2 and won back the game with a score of 11-5.
In the third game, Sun Yingsha took the lead in multi-shot exchanges with a 3-0 advantage. Both sides made mistakes later, but Sun Yingsha had already entered the state and was more familiar with He Zhuojia's spin, constantly widening the score to 9-3 and winning another game with a score of 11-5.
The fourth game started with a close score, with He Zhuojia constantly changing the rhythm and spin. The mid-game score was tied at 6-6. He Zhuojia played defensive counterattacks, plus Sun Yingsha's mistakes, ending the game with a 9-8 lead. However, Sun Yingsha's shots were tough, and she won the game with a score of 13-11, reversing the game with a big score of 3-1 to help the team level the score at 1-1.
The third match was crucial, and Kuai Man eventually won 3-2 against Chen Yi. Kuai Man won the first two games with scores of 11-6 and 11-9, while Chen Yi won back with two 11-6 scores. The decisive game was fiercely contested, and Kuai Man finally won with a score of 11-8, contributing 1 point for Shenzhen University. At the beginning of this month, Kuai Man joined the team and participated in the mixed doubles competition, eventually winning the mixed doubles World Cup championship and becoming a new world champion. However, her competitiveness still needs to be further improved.
In the fourth match, Sun Yingsha competed again, facing Liu Weishan. Liu Weishan is also very strong, especially in serving with distinctive features and good holding ability. In the end, Sun Yingsha won the match in three games, but whether it was the score or the process, the games were very close and intense, with scores of 11-9, 12-10, and 13-11. In this match, Liu Weishan also performed well, losing on key points. Thus, Shenzhen University reversed and defeated Shanghai Longteng with a score of 3-1, advancing to the women's team final first.