(by Steve Hopkins)
World No. 2 Lin Shidong entered the Singapore Smash just 1000 points behind World No. 1 Wang Chuqin. Shidong shined in Singapore, with dominant results extending across three events.
In Singles, Shidong went 3-0, 3-1, 3-0, 4-1, and 4-0 to reach the Final. And once in that Final, he outlasted World No. 4 Liang Jingkun closing out the 4-2 win with 11-3 and 11-2 scores in the final two games. As importantly, Shidong also got some help – Wang Chuqin lost in the Semifinals (to Liang Jingkun). The “early” loss by World No. 1 combined with the points for winning the event, should give Lin Shidong what he needs to be the new World No. 1.
Shidong’s story does not end with Singles. He teamed with Chuqin to win Men’s Singles. He also teamed with Kuai Man to win Mixed Doubles. Having a little fun with numbers, the dominance for Shidong’s coming out party in Singapore included cumulative game scores of 12-2 in Mixed Doubles, 12-2 in Men’s Doubles, and 21-4 in Singles for a Singapore Slam total of 45 wins to just 8 losses.
World No. 1 Sun Yingsha dominated Women’s Singles. Yingsha also managed a second place finish in Women’s Doubles, teamed with Wang Yidi. Perhaps the bigger story on the Women’s side was the performance of World No. 15 Kuai Man. Kuai fought all the way to the Finals of Women’s Singles, a path that included upset wins over Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong. Kuai then teamed with Wang Manyu to win Women’s Doubles and along with Shidong she won Mixed Doubles. A pair of event wins and one runner-up is a solid set of results for the fifteenth highest ranked player in the draw.
Its a new year. Things are shifting. Its a little early to call this the year of Lin Shidong. But so far, Lin Shidong and Kuai Man are making themselves heard.
The next major stop for the tour is WTT Champions in Chongqing, China about a month from now.
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