by Amy Ding

Weiqiao had the home-court advantage in the third round of the Men’s Super League. Despite suffering an opening defeat as Xia Yizheng lost to Xu Xin in the first set, Weiqiao’s star Lin Gaoyuan managed to level the score. Lin came back from 0-2 down against Zhao Zihao to win in five games. Afterwards, the guests had their momentum as Zhao Zihao/Cui Qinglei took the doubles.

The fourth set saw two powerful players take the court. Lin Gaoyuan, this year’s Asian Champion, crushed Xu Xin in three straight games, bringing the match into a deciding set. Lin’s colleague, Yan An, grabbed opporutunity as he beat Cui Qinglei and helped Weiqiao secure the match.

Meanwhile, the Bayi Team had the advantage of a home crowd support. Bayi lost the opening battle against Ma Long, who is representing Tianjin this season, but succeeded in the subsequent matches. 20-year-old sensation Fan Zhendong took the spotlight, winning two points for the team, overcoming Grand Slam Champion Ma Long 3-1 in the fourth set, helping Bayi seal a final 3-1 victory.

2015 World Championship runner-up Fang Bo led Shandong Luneng as they had a clean sweep victory against Bazhou. It was the same joy shared by Anhui as they beat Jiangsu in three straight games.

Completing the list of victories in the round was Shenzhen, who upset the host Sichuan. Shenzhen posted a 3-1 win.

The team position is as follows after three rounds: