World Cup Day Three: They Are Out!
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Liang Jingkun: LOKI Liang Jingkun Special, NEO Blue Hurricane, NEO Orange Hurricane Ovtcharov: Ovtcharov ALC (likely a Viscaria structure), D09c, Z03
Keeping up with players’ equipment is extremely difficult, especially when their blades are “hybrids.” In previous matches, Ovtcharov was using a handle labeled Ovtcharov S1 (a pure wood 5-ply sold only in Europe), but the actual blade inside was an inner SZLC with a large paulownia core.
This time he went back to a handle labeled Ovtcharov ALC. From the Paris Olympics up to now — roughly two years — the Ovtcharov ALC he’s been using is, in all likelihood, actually a special-order Viscaria.
Without clearer equipment shots from yesterday’s match, I’m going from past experience.
Liang Jingkun lost 2–3 to Ovtcharov, dropping the deciding game 10–12, and was eliminated in the group stage. The final point even came from Ovtcharov challenging the call, claiming Liang’s serve had too high a toss angle — winning the point that way. A bit ironic and bittersweet.
After already losing 2–3 to the relatively unknown Cifuentes earlier, Liang’s form looked shaky, and many fans had already sensed he might not make it out of the group stage.
For the Ovtcharov match, Liang started very actively — using his forehand much more than usual, pumping himself up vocally. Every shot was deeply loaded with spin, the ball quality heavy. At that pace, if he’d won 3–0 or 3–1, he could have advanced on point differential.
Instead, after winning the first two games, Liang got reversed three straight. Ovtcharov started the third game by going to long balls immediately to force a pure rallying contest. He also shifted to the forehand side and served from there — serving short to Liang’s forehand short or long to the backhand — and Liang handled neither well. And once you gave Ovtcharov the ball on his backhand, his shots were genuinely vicious.
Losing the deciding game meant losing this World Cup — and people are speculating this might be Liang’s last singles major. Regardless, he raised his hand and smiled to the crowd. Maybe he hasn’t reached the heights we hoped for, but at least he gave it everything he had.
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Zhou Qihao lost 2–3 to Franziska. Chen Yuanyu lost 0–3 to Qiu Dang — each game averaging only six points each side — which suggests many of our younger players are operating at a different “speed” than the current mainstream game demands. Facing Qiu Dang’s pace, Chen was always one beat behind. Poor serve-receive didn’t help either.
With that, China entered five men and only Wang Chuqin and Wen Ruibo remain, one in each half of the draw. This is China’s worst World Cup result in years.
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On the women’s side, Qin Yuxuan beat — eliminated — Hayata Hina 3–1. Qin’s middle-ball protection, forehand defense down the line, and attacking power were all genuinely impressive. Hayata’s backhand, with the Nitaku sticky rubber, seemed a step slow in speed.
Qin Yuxuan: Fan Zhendong ALC, NEO Blue Hurricane, D09c
Hayata Hina: Hayata Hina H2 Special, Nitaku Blue Hurricane, GENEXTION V2C
At the time of writing, Qin Yuxuan is already in her match against Winters — we’ll see whether she can handle the next challenge.