Hina Hayata (Photo WTT)
Japan and China are set to face off in the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London, their sixth consecutive women’s team gold medal showdown, as both Asian superpowers cruised through their semifinals without dropping a match.
The two nations will also square off against each other for the men’s team title.
In the first women’s semifinal of the day at OVO Arena Wembley, Japan dismantled their German rivals 3-0 to keep their unbeaten run at this event alive and guarantee at least silver, the highlight being Hina Hiyata pulling off a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to beat Sabine Winter 3-2.
Miwa Harimoto found herself in uncharted territory in the opening match against Ying Han, as the young Japanese star dropped her first game in London. But after a crucial time out when trailing in the second, Harimoto flipped this match on its head, putting Japan 1-0 up, winning the match 5-11, 12-10, 11-3, 11-8.
Germany dispatched World No.9 Winter to face World No.11 Hayata in the second match. Winter edged the first game and then dominated the second as she looked to draw Germany level. But Hayata threw everything she could at Winter to prevent that from happening, and dragged herself out of her own grave to put Japan 2-0 up with a 10-12, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 victory.
Honoka Hashimoto was the woman who confirmed Japan’s place in the final, confining Germany to a bronze medal, beating Nina Mittelham 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.
It was business as usual for Sun Yingsha in China’s semifinal against Romania, as she opened her team’s account with a straight-games 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 win over Elizabeta Samara.
China then went from using their World No.1 Yingsha to assigning their World No.2 Wang Manyu to face Romania’s best player, Bernadette Szocs. Wang asserted herself early, dominating Game One, but Szocs grew into the match and pushed her Chinese counterpart in the second, leading 5-8. But Wang, under pressure for the first time in the tie, didn’t crack and doubled her lead.
Szocs, who has never beaten Wang, continued to pile on the pressure, refusing to go down without a fight, and nothing could separate the two after 18 points. As the third game entered its crescendo, it was Wang who returned to her bench arms aloft, saving Game Point before snatching the win (11-4, 11-9, 12-10).
Kuai Man then took down Andreea Dragoman 12-10, 11-6, 12-10, confirming a perfect night for China and a shot at their 24th World Team Table Tennis Championships gold medal.
China continue revival to make the final
Japan and China also moved through challenging semifinal showdowns, keeping their title dreams intact.
Last reaching the gold medal match in 2016, the Japanese men’s team were fired up right from the off in their clash with Chinese Taipei, throwing the kitchen sink with a full-strength match roster.
Opening with a blockbuster showdown between Tomokazu Harimoto and Lin Yun-Ju, it didn’t take long for the firework show to commence, as both titans unleashed their full arsenal in a breathless match.
Yun-ju, who was fighting with ambitions of leading Chinese Taipei to its first-ever World Team Championships final, started brightly, banking the opening game of the tie. But Harimoto bounced back immediately, and while the margins remained razor thin, the Japanese star ultimately prevailed 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 12-10, cheering at the top of his voice as he put Japan in the driving seat.
It was difficult to see any scenario where Chinese Taipei could come back from that setback without an exceptional performance from both of its younger talent. While Feng Yi-Hsin and Kuo Guan-Hong put up a brave fight, they proved no match for Sora Matsushima, who won 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 and Shunsuke Togami winning 11-8, 11-9, 11-5, to end Japan’s 10-year wait for a return to the Men’s Team final.
“Honestly, I’m a little surprised that it’s been a while since Japan’s men’s team last reached the final. But for us, making this far is only a steppingstone – a point of passage. We came here for gold, so tomorrow will be a very important match. I hope each and every one of us can prepare well and give it our all,.” said Togami.
Not only is Japan back in the title match for the first time since 2016, but they are also set to face the same opposition they met in that contest 10 years ago, with China coming through an enormous test against France in Saturday’s other semifinal.
OVO Arena Wembley was rocking all night long with dramatic encounters taking the crowd through every emotion in the book. Flavien Coton, who only celebrated his 18th birthday last month, produced a sensational display for France, leading World No.1 Wang Chuqin three games into a spellbinding opener. But Chuqin delivered under the cosh as he has so many times before, fending off Coton’s heroics to give China the lead, taking the game 15-13, 11-13, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8.
Felix Lebrun brought France level with a masterful display against Lin Shidong, putting three games past the Chinese superstar without reply 11-9, 11-9, 12-10 to get the French fans up on their feet.
That excitement would intensify soon after as older brother Alexis Lebrun put his team on the cusp of the match lead, blowing Liang Jingkun away 3-11, 1-11 in the opening two games of their contest. But remarkably, Jingkun would somehow turn the match on its head, saving two match points in a jaw-dropping comeback, winning 3-11, 1-11, 15-13, 12-10, 11-2 to raise the roof.
With the sun beginning to set on France’s title ambitions, Felix Lebrun quite simply had to win the fourth match of the evening against Chuqin to keep France in the contest. A valiant effort saw the French superstar keep things tight, but no one has been able to slay Chuqin all week in London, and that record wouldn’t be tarnished as Chuqin delivered the knockout blow winning 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, breaking French hearts in devastating fashion.
