Four consecutive championships! China women’s table tennis defeated the Japanese team 3-1 to dominate the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships.

　　Xinhua News Agency, Helmstad, Sweden, May 5 (Reporter Zhang Zhang) The China women’s table tennis team defeated the Japanese team 3-1 in the final of the 2018 World Table Tennis Team Championship on May 5, achieving four consecutive championships. This is also the 21st time for China women’s table tennis to win the Columbian Cup.

　　Against the second-seeded Japanese team, China sent a combination of Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling, while the Japanese team was still Ishikawa Kasumi with young Ito Miki and Hirano Miwoo, but the order of appearances was adjusted.

　　Liu Shiwen, the first to appear on the stage, had been playing steadily before, but obviously there was still a lot of pressure to play the No.1 position in the final, and finally she lost to 17-year-old Ito Meicheng in five games.

　　After two draws at the beginning of the first game, Liu Shiwen pulled the score to 6: 3, but Ito quickly tied the score and overtook it by 9: 7. After Liu Shiwen tied the score to 9, Ito scored two points and won the first game; In the second game, the two sides still showed a stalemate. After Liu Shiwen established an advantage of 8: 5, Ito quickly drew the score to 7: 8. Seeing that the lead was narrowed, Liu Shiwen promptly requested a time-out. After the time-out, Liu Shiwen, who was in a stable mood, pulled back a game with 11: 8.

　　On May 5th, China team member and coach Li Sun (third from left) won the championship trophy at the awarding ceremony — — The Columbian Cup. Xinhua News Agency reporter Ye Pingfan photo

　　In the third game, Liu Shiwen, who strengthened backhand defense, started with 4: 0, then further expanded his advantage and won with 11: 5; In the fourth game, after Liu Shiwen started 3-1, Ito requested a timeout. Since then, the two sides have repeatedly drawn. After 8 draws, Ito scored two points in a row to get the point, and Liu Shiwen’s serve was successfully fought by the opponent. The score became 2: 2.

　　In the deciding game, Liu Shiwen started with 5: 1, but Ito soon made it 6: 7. Since then, Liu Shiwen opened the score gap to 2 points and got the match point at 10: 8, but Ito, who didn’t stop, withstood the pressure and scored 4 points in a row, winning the game at 12: 10.

　　In the second game, Ding Ning defeated Hirano Miwoo, who ranked sixth in the world, in straight sets. proved that losing the day before was an accident.

　　Ding Ning started with 2: 0, and did not let his opponent tie the score again, winning the first game at 11: 6; In the second game, after Ding Ning established a 6-3 advantage, Ping Ye requested a timeout. Although Ping Ye tied the score to 9 and saved a game, he finally lost another game at 10: 12. In the third game, Ding Ning once fell behind at 5: 9, but she doggedly tied the score to 9, and took the lead in getting the match point, and finally won the game at 13: 11, helping the China team tie the big score to 1: 1.

　　On May 5th, China team member and coach Li Sun (third from left) celebrated at the award ceremony. Xinhua News Agency reporter Ye Pingfan photo

　　The competition between Zhu Yuling, ranked second in the world, and Ishikawa Kasumi, ranked third in the world, should have been a close match, but the scene was one-sided.

　　Zhu Yuling, 23, easily won the first game at 11: 4; In the second game, Zhu Yuling once led at 7: 0. Although she lost three points in a row, she still relied on the advantage she had established before to play the next game at 11: 7. In the third game, Zhu Yuling started 4-2, but Ishikawa asked for a timeout, which still failed to stop Zhu Yuling from moving forward. Although she lost two points after winning the match point at 10: 6, she finally won the match at 11: 8, helping China to overtake at 2: 1.

　　In the fourth game, Liu Shiwen, who played against Hirano Miwoo again, found his form, winning 11-6 in the first two games. In the third game, Ping Ye, who had been in the lead, got two innings at 10: 8, but Liu Shiwen steadied his mind and finally scored four points in a row, winning the game and helping China defend its title successfully.

　　Ding Ning, captain of China team, said after the game that the team competition was the result of the joint efforts of everyone in the team. He was very happy to win the championship and thanked all those who paid for it.