BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- After witnessing a four-game winning streak in a round-robin format among five Chinese women's table tennis players, Liu Shiwen, currently world No. 2, got the first ticket to 2015 World Table Tennis Championships here on Friday.
"Four tough rounds. I'm happy with the result," said Liu.
The event featured Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, Zhu Yuling, Wu Yang and Chen Meng, all among yearend's world top ten. Li Xiaoxia, who claimed titles in all three major tournaments: World Cup, World Championships and the Olympics, was absent due to illness.
All matches adpoted the best-of-five format. Winners of a match can get three points, while losers get one.
World No. 1 Ding Ning heated up quicker than her opponent Chen Meng, seeing a comfortable 11-5, 11-7, 11-1 win. Liu Shiwen also tasted her first victory with 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.
Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling, who sat on the top and second position respectively after the first four rounds, had a face-to-face competition to decide the title holder.
They split the first two games, before Liu got an upper hand in the next two, and finally secured the win with a strong forehand.
"We had an intense play in the first two games, before I changed the rhythm and took the advantage in my hand," commented Liu.
The 2015 World Table Tennis Championships will run from April 26 to May 3, in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.
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