(by Steve Hopkins)

At the end of the regular season, Fan Zhendong’s Shanghai squad faced off against powerhouse Shandong Weiqiao (with Chuqin).  The the two team anchors faced off, it was Fan Zhendong that won the set – even as the Shandong team won the team match.  These two teams met again today in one of two China Super League Semifinals.  The result was the same, with Shandong advancing to the Final – a total domination from start to finish.

How talented must a team be to win 3-0 over a squad that is led by Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin?  The top three for Shandong are Wang Chuqin (World No. 1), Liang Jingkun (World No. 5), and Lin Yun-Ju (World No. 13).  The opening match was Xu Xin and Zhou Kai for Shanghai against Liang Jingkun and Lin Yun-Ju, a match that went to Shandong 3-1.  The second match was Chuqin versus Zhendong, and this time Chuqin flipped the script and won 3-1.  Shandong is up 2 matches to 0.  The final match of the day was Liang Jingkun with a 3-1 win over Zhou Kai, cementing the Shandong Weiqiao win.

In the other Semifinal, Lin Shidong’s Huangshi Base Huaxin took on Lin Gaoyuan’s Shantou Mingrun.  In the opening doubles match Lin Gaoyuan and Xu Haidong were too strong for Xue Fei and Xiang Peng, giving Shantou the early lead. Lin Shidong then evened the score with a 3-1 win over Chen Yuanyu (remember that name, the 19 year old played had really close scores against the World No. 2).  In the fourth game, it was Xue Fei that likely turned the tide of the match, playing with great composure and upsetting Lin Gaoyuan 3-1.  With his team leading 2-1, Lin Shidong shut the door on the match with a 3-0 win over Xu Haidong.  Huangshi base Huaxin moves on to face Shandong Weiqiao in the Final tomorrow.

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