Lin wins all-Chinese clash, Han stuns Wang at WTT Champions Doha

DOHA - Lin Shidong beat fellow Chinese paddler Liang Jingkun in the men's singles quarterfinals, while German veteran Han Ying upset women's top seed Wang Manyu of China in seven games at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Doha on Saturday.

World No 2 Lin saw his lead in games twice erased by Liang, before regrouping in the fifth and sixth games for an 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9 victory.

"Every time when we met, I'd try my best and learn something from him. At the start, I did well on adjusting my mentality and executing my tactics," Lin said after the win.

Lin will face Jang Woo-jin in the semifinal, as the South Korean eliminated Sweden's Truls Moregard in five games.

The other men's semifinal on Sunday pits Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto against Lin Yun-ju of Chinese Taipei.

Despite a 0-5 record against second-ranked Wang in previous head-to-head, Han executed her chopping style well this time to record one of the biggest wins of her career, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6.

According to WTT, Han has become the oldest player to reach a WTT Champions semifinal, aged 42 years and 256 days old.

"Of course, I'm quite pleased with my performance because I have never beaten her before. When I won the third game, I started to get a little bit of belief. And then I just wanted to give it my all for every point," said Han.

Awaiting her in the semifinal will be Zhu Yuling of Macao, China, as the former world No. 1 celebrated her 31st birthday with an 11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8 victory over China's Wang Yidi, the fourth seed of the tournament.

"I cherished every moment throughout the match because I don't get too many opportunities to compete with such top players as Wang. I'd treat it as an intense training for myself. I performed at my best at every moment and settled into the first game fast," Zhu noted.

China's Chen Xingtong and Kuai Man beat their Japanese rivals Miwa Harimoto and Miyu Nagasaki, respectively, to set up a semifinal clash.

Both finals are scheduled on Sunday evening.