Chinese table tennis players Wang Manyu (L) and Fang Bo (R) battle with Japan's Morizono Masataka and Ito Mima during the mixed doubles semi-finals at 2017 Asian Table Tennis Championships on April 13. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn] |
China and Japan will once again meet in a gold medal game at the 2017 Asian Table Tennis Championships in Wuxi, this time fighting for the mixed doubles trophy.
The fifth day of the tournament saw the outcome of the top eight men's and women's doubles pairs as well as the mixed double's finals match up.
Chinese table tennis ace Zhou Yu and Chen Xingtong swept past Japanese duo Tazoe Kenta and Maeda Miyu 3-0 with relative ease.
Japanese table tennis players Ito Mima (L) crys with joy after the victory against China's Wang Manyu and Fang Bo in the mixed doubles semi-finals at 2017 Asian Table Tennis Championships on April 13. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn] |
Another pair that made their way to the finals was Morizono Masataka and Ito Mima from Japan, who had a close game with China's Fang Bo and Wang Manyu.
The Japanese fought back with MorizonoMasataka and Ito Mima, who closed out a hard fought game against China's Fang Bo and Wang Manyu.
The two teams were tied at 2-2, with the Japanese pair down 7-10 in the decisive fifth set. Masataka and Mima kept their cool and save three consecutive match points, before forcing two turnovers from their Chinese rivals to take the match and advance to the finals.
In men's and women's doubles, players from China, Japan and South Korea all had steady performances, advancing to face stronger opponents in the next round.
Chinese table tennis players Chen Xingtong (L) and Zhou Yu (R) competes in the mixed doubles semi-finals at 2017 Asian Table Tennis Championships on April 13. They will play against Japan's Morizono Masataka and Ito Mima in the finals. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn] |