Durban, May 5 (ZXS) -- The men's singles quarterfinals of the Durban World Table Tennis Championships on the 26th ushered in a focus showdown. Facing China's strongest opponent, Japan's Tomokazu Chang, China's Liang Jingkun fought hard for six games and defeated his opponent 26-4 to advance to the semifinals. Since the other three matches also ended in the victory of Chinese players, the Chinese men's team won the men's singles final four of this World Table Tennis Championships in advance.
As one of the fierce rivals of the Chinese team in the Paris Olympic cycle, Zhang Benzhihe has made significant progress after the Tokyo Olympics and has become the main opponent of the Chinese men's team after Boll, Ochalov and others. In the semifinals of the 2022 Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships against the Chinese team, Zhang Benzhihe scored two points alone, which has made Guoping "palpitate" so far.
Facing the determined Zhang Benzhihe, Liang Jingkun did not win easily. The two got into a fight at the beginning, and the score was unusually glued. Liang Jingkun was tied by his opponent when he led in two sets, and the difference of two points in each game was enough to prove the fierce competition of the game. The fifth game was a turning point in the game: Zhang Benzhihe led all the way, but was scored by Liang Jingkun at the last minute, and won 11:9. Subsequently, his mentality was affected, and he lost another set 9:11, losing 2:4 on aggregate and stopping the men's singles quarterfinals.
After the match, Liang Jingkun said that it was "too difficult" to win the match, because his opponent has now grown into the strongest opponent of the Chinese team, and Zhang Benzhihe's backhand in the match did create too much pressure on him.
According to Liang Jingkun, he made very full preparations for Zhang Benzhihe's playing style before the game, and he also fully predicted the difficult situation, "when he gets on the field, he will play point by point and bite the opponent." He admits that the main reason why he was able to win the game was that he was calmer than his opponent at key moments, and his technique and tactics were more comprehensive.
"I've played 100 per cent and I'm actually happy with what I'm doing. This game is not without chances, but in terms of key points, I still don't handle as well as my opponents. After the competition, Zhang Benzhihe burst into tears, this World Table Tennis Championships, the Japanese star only won one mixed doubles runner-up.
In the semifinals, Liang Jingkun will face teammate Fan Zhendong, who beat Egypt's Asar 4-0 to advance to the semifinals. Liang Jingkun said that in the face of Fan Zhendong, who is known as the "strongest in the world", the only thing to do is to fight.
In the other match that followed, China's Wang Chuqin beat the biggest dark horse of the tournament 4-1, and Denmark's Linde, ranked only 180 in the world, will compete with the winner of Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan for another ticket to the final. (End)