Luneng wins Shandong derby for men's title in Chinese table tennis league

Source: Xinhua| 2020-12-30 00:06:14|Editor: huaxia

Ma Long of Shandong Luneng celebrates for scoring against Liang Jingkun of Shandong Weiqiao during the men's team final match at the Chinese Table Tennis Club Super League (CTTSL), in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)

Spearheaded by Olympic champion Ma Long, Luneng triumphed in the Shandong derby against Weiqiao to win the China Table Tennis Super League championship.

GUANGZHOU, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Ma Long bagged two points in the Shandong derby in Luneng's 3-1 victory over Weiqiao in the men's final of the 2020 China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL) on Tuesday.

As expected, the men's final featured the top two ranked sides after the first stage. Wang Chuqin and Fang Bo put Luneng ahead by defeating Lin Yun-Ju and Zhou Qihao 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6.

"Winning the opening doubles match was a huge recognition towards myself over this season," said Wang, who was named the men's MVP after the final.

Fang Bo of Shandong Luneng returns the ball to Zhou Qihao of Shandong Weiqiao during the men's team final match at the Chinese Table Tennis Club Super League (CTTSL), in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)

Ma extended Luneng's advantage to two matches. The Grand Slam winner came back from one game down to beat Liang Jingkun 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10.

Zhou gave Weiqiao some breathing space after conquering Fang in straight games, but appearing on the court again, Ma was reluctant to concede his supremacy and overwhelmed Lin 11-2, 11-9, 13-11 to finish it off.

"We showed mentality and were focused throughout the match," said Ma. "I didn't play well in the first stage and lost some matches while making some adjustments into the second stage. My performance today was very satisfying."

Earlier on Tuesday, Chinese internationals Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, and Wang Yidi fueled Shenzhen to beat Shandong 3-1 and claim the women's title.

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