London 2012: China & Hong-Kong Go To The Semifinals

China - Singapore

The Olympic third person of the Chinese Team, Ma Long was the first player into the arena and battled against the Singaporean veteran Gao Ning. In his interview after the Round 16, Ma Long said that he still hasn't shown his best condition yet. Today, he, himself would probably agree that he has already been warmed up. Ma Long nailed an outstanding 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 for the first match.

The Olympic silver medalist Wang Hao played in the second Singles match and fought against Zhan Jian. In the last round, Liu Guoliang somehow saw that Wang Hao still has the shadows of his defeat from the Singles event. Today, Wang Hao posted a 3-0 victory but a rather slow start was evident (11-8, 11-3, 11-4).

Our reigning Olympic champion Zhang Jike was tasked to play in the Doubles today. He partnered with Wang Hao against Yang Zi and Zhan Jian. This time, Liu Guoliang has probably done something special as Zhang Jike and Wang Hao posted a controlling 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-3). 

Indeed, the Chinese Team has quickly addressed all issues from the previous round. They did not just win the Doubles but did extremely well as they completed a sweep victory all throughout the competition. 

Japan - Hong Kong 

The Japanese leader Jun Mizutani was the first player in the match. He played against Jiang Tianyi. The level of both players were actually on equal footing but the Japanese player had the capacity to convert advantages into points. After four sets, Jun Mizutani won in 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9. 

After defeat in the opening match, Hong Kong's Tang Peng was tasked to lead the team to a recovery. Indeed, Tang Peng carried out his task very well against Seiya Kishikawa. Tang Peng finished with a 3-1 score with 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7. 

The Japanese third person Koki Niwa partnered with Seiya Kishikawa in the Doubles against Leung Chu Yan and Jiang Tianyi. Between the two pairs, the Hong Kong duo had more unity in their play. It was another 3-1 for Hong Kong (8-11, 14-12, 11-8, 13-11). 

At this point, Japan was under great threat and Jun Mizutani had the responsibility to keep the hopes of the team to progress into the competition even further. Against Leung Chu Yan, Mizutani was successful to level things in 2-2 after posting 3-1 (5-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-8).

Eventually, the match reached the decider between the Japanese rookie Koki Niwa against Tang Peng. The pressure was great for both players as the responsibility to win the match was heavily laid on their shoulders. In four sets, the pressure was too heavy for the Olympic first timer Koki Niwa while Tang Peng took advantage of it. Tang Peng won in 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-3. 

Hong Kong advances into the semifinals. 

Photo source: daylife.com