Shaanxi and Beijing have been crowned in advance as this
season's champions of the domestic table tennis China Super
League.
In the men's competitions, defending champions Shaanxi
whitewashed rivals Beijing 3-0 to win their back-to-back title.
Shaanxi's head coach, Liu Guoquan, attributed the victory to the
League's highest-priced player, Ma Lin, who fully displayed his
strength.
In other 17th-round matches held overnight, Bayi clean-swept
Zhejiang to stand second on the table.
Wuxi beat Sichuan 3-2, Jiangsu won 3-1 over Liaoning, and
Shandong lost to Ningbo 3-1.
The bottom teams went head-to-head and they will go on to the
last round (18th round) to decide which teams will be
relegated.
In the women's front, the Beijing club, led by world-number-one
Zhang Yining, defeated Shandong 3-2 after a fierce battle.
The clash between the top two teams had been tagged as the fight
between the champions and the runners-up.
Zhang Yining scored two points for Beijing to lay the winning
foundation. Young player Ding Ning also played a spectacular game
to help bring the capital club a well-deserved victory.
In other matches, Liaoning beat Henan 3-2, Wuxi was 3-1 over
Hebei, and Beijing University also had a 3-1 win over Guangdong,
while Bayi trounced Sichuan 3-0.
Henan will be relegated to second division next season, while
Sichuan still have a chance to stay in the Super League if they can
win the decisive clash against the top team from the second
division.?
(CRI August 17, 2006)