By Neha Aggarwal
Women’s Doubles final:
Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen versus Zhu Yuling and Chen Meng
The match is a repeat of the Women’s Doubles final at the Liebherr 2017 World Championships just three weeks ago in Düsseldorf. Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen were crowned the champions; they won the narrowest of the margins, 11-9 in the seventh game! It was a dream win for Ding Ning as she won the title in her fifth attempt. She was desperate to win. But in Chengdu, its a different story. The World Champions are the top seeded pair, favourites to win the title but, Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling, the third seeds, will have a different motivation this time, to take revenge for the World Championships’ loss.
One thing is for sure, the match will be thrilling, as four of the top five players in the world will be competing for the title!
Men’s Doubles final:
Tomokazu Harimoto and Yuto Kizukuri versus Jin Ueda and Maharu Yoshimura
An all Japanese final awaits. Tomokazu Harimoto and Yuto Kizukuri are the youngest Men’s Doubles finalists at an ITTF World Tour event. Tomokazu Harimoto is 13 years and 363 days old, just two days short of his 14th birthday; Yuto Kizukuri is 16 years and 246 days old. They beat recently crowned World Champions Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin in the semi-finals and certainly are on fire. Are their opponents tense? I am sure yes.
Neither pair is seeded. An all Japan finals is always a treat to watch, make sure to tune in to tv.ittf.com.
Women’s Singles final:
Ding Ning versus Sun Yingsha
Sun Yingsha came out of no where to win last week in Tokyo; this week in Chengdu, she is again on fire. Still unranked, she competed in the preliminary rounds and since the beginning of the main draw, she has not dropped even a single game! She has eliminated the best of the best to make it to the final, and has never played against Ding Ning at the international arena. Is Ding Ning tense?
She will play in an ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles final for the 24th time; she has won 13 and lost 10 in the past. It is the 115th time that two players representing China at the time have met in an ITTF World Tour Women’s Singles final! China is safe, but Ding Ning is not. The Sun is out in full force and is waiting to cause another upset!
Mens Singles final:
Dimitrij Ovtcharov versus Timo Boll
One of the rare sights at the World Tour, especially in Open, How many times has one seen an all German final? There have been three such occasions in the past. In head to head, Ovtcharov leads five-four but there are more numbers to this match.
Talk about experience, it will be Timo Boll’s 28th appearance in an ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles final. He has won 19 and lost eight. For Dimitrij Ovtcharov, it is 13th time! He has won six and lost six. It will be a match of equal calibre. Both Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov have won one World Tour title each this year, Dima won in India, Timo in Korea!
Both are in great form, the match will be the battle between Europe’s top two!
Be sure to watch LIVE on tv.ittf.com.