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E-mail Xinhua, November 9, 2024
China's rising star Lin Shidong secured a semifinal spot with a 3-1 win over Sora Matsushima of Japan on Friday at WTT Champions Frankfurt.
Seeded second in the tournament, Lin withstood a strong comeback attempt by Matsushima to advance in the men's singles competition.
Lin made an impressive start in the quarterfinal, dominating the first game 11-2. However, the match took a sudden turn as Matsushima hit back in the second game, surprising Lin with an 11-8 win.
Despite this setback, Lin quickly regained control, denying Matsushima further momentum with 11-7 and 11-9 wins in the next two games to seal the victory.
"He (Matsushima) served very well today. It's not easy to win the match," said Lin, "He was not fully in the play during the first game. That's why I won it quickly. I did not manage well when I was leading 5-1 in the second game. I played with much clearer tactics in the following two games."
Frankfurt defending champion Wang Yidi maintained her strong form at the Suwag Energie Arena, producing another overwhelming performance to end South Korea's Shin Yubin's hopes in the women's singles quarterfinal with scores of 11-8, 11-7, 11-8.
Top-seeded Wang Manyu knocked her compatriot Qian Tianyi out of the women's singles contention with a straight-game win of 11-6, 11-8, 12-10.
Meanwhile, Japan's 16-year-old talent Miwa Harimoto avenged her previous loss to China's He Zhuojia. Having lost 3-0 to He at China Smash 2024, Harimoto responded with a comeback victory, winning 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, and 11-6 to progress into the semifinals.
