MUSCAT, March 5
China stamped their authority in the WTT Contender Muscat 2022 by winning all the available titles on the concluding day in Muscat on Saturday.
Indian pairs who were in the finals of women’s doubles and mixed doubles lost out to Chinese pairs and the same was the case in the men’s doubles with Chinese Taipei.
Liang Jingkun justified his top billing with a 4-1 win against Lin Gaoyuan in the final.
Gaoyuan made a good start to take the first set 11-9 but Jingkun made a powerful comeback by taking the second set 11-0, leaving nothing for Gaoyuan. There was no looking back for the World No 5 as he wrapped the match 11-5, 11-2, 11-9 to lift the men’s title.
Kuai Man overcame Fan Siqi’s challenge 4-1 to clinch the women’s crown.
World junior champion Man was in good form as she prevailed 11-8, 11-5, 11-5, 11-13, 11-6. Siqi, who had an impressive tournament, tried her best in the fourth set but Man controlled the proceedings.
INDIANS MISS
OUT IN FINAL
In the women’s doubles final, China’s Zhang Rui and Kuai Man overcame the challenge of India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee 3-1 to claim the title.
The Indian pair fought back in the second set to claim it 11-8 after losing first set 6-11 but Rui and Man clinched the cliff-hanger of a third set 12-10 and then completed proceedings with a 11-7 win in the last set.
Chen Xingtong and Wang Chuqin of China grabbed the mixed doubles honours after cruising past India’s Manav Vikash Thakkar and Archana Girish Kamath 3-0.
The Chinese pair had no trouble in a comfortable 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 triumph.
In the men’s doubles, Chinese pair of Lin Shidong and Xiang Peng eased past Chinese Taipei’s Peng Wang-Wei and Chuang Chih-Yuan 3-0 to clinch the top prize.
Shidong and Peng were comfortable winners by 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 in the final.
Earlier in the men’s singles semifinals, World No 112 Xiang Peng made top seeded Liang Jingkun fight for every point before conceding 4-3 in nail-biting seven sets. The World No 5 prevailed 4-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 in the match that stretched to nearly two hours.
In the second semifinal, Lin Gaoyuan eased past Liu Dingshuao 4-1 (11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-3).
In the women’s semifinals, Kuai Man of China beat compatriot Quain Tianyi 4-0 with scores of 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 13-11.
In the other semifinal, China star Fan Siqi came good against Yang Xiaoxin of Monaco 4-1.
The Monaco player came back in the second set 11-8 after losing the first set 4-11. But Siqi managed to grab the next three sets 11-7, 15-13, 11-9.
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