Chinese National Games

Today in competitions the reigning women's doubles Olympic champions Du Jing and Yu Yang will advance to the finals tomorrow.  They won in straight sets against  Pan Pan and Li Xuerui from People's Liberation Army 21-11, 21-13.  They will now wait to see if they face  Zhao Tingting and Feng Chen from People's Liberation Army or Zhao Yunlei and Wang Xiaoli from Hubei.
 
Lin Wang (at left) won the women's singles title against Shixian Wang.  Lin lost the first set but came back to win 16-21, 21-18, 21-11.  Lin who is only 21 has helfd the world's top ranking since last month lost to the 19 year old Shixian at the Chinese Masters last month. "It's really hard to win the final at last. Playing on national court is always harder than on international circuit," saind the winner.  Shixian, who had a tough tournament in both the team and individual events had nothing left in the tank for the final. "  "But I'm really satisfied with my performance as I clinched a silver medal in my maiden National Games trip." said the youngster.
 
Lin Dan was dominant in the third and deciding set in the semi-finals as he continued his quest to retain the men's singles title. He took out Chen Jin  21-17, 15-21, 21-7.  The match lasted an impressive 82 minutes.  Dan will now face Bao Chunlai, who reached the final with an easier victory over Hu Yun from Hong Kong 21-14, 21-6.  Dan said of teh upcoming final, ""Bao has clinched several titles this year and is now in good shape,"said Lin, ranked second in the world. "The final could be a fierce battle."
 
 
In the mixed doubles final it was Zhao Tingting and her partner He Hanbin who took the title, winning against Hunan's Zheng Bo and Tian Qing.  The final tally was 14-21, 21-8,21-19. "This is my third and last National Games. After that, I will retire." said Zhao, who will take up college studies shortly after a break.   "After I took the women's doubles gold in this year's world championships, I do not put myself under pressure anymore. Maybe relaxation did some help during my trip this time at the National Games," she added. "Anyway, it's a perfect ending for me."  
 

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