Dubai: Chinese dominance in table tennis was at its expected best with both the titles to be contested between the nation’s paddlers as the 2016 ITTF Nakheel Asian Cup entered its third and final day of competition at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Former world number one and defending champion Xu Xin and defending Olympic champion Zhang Jike eased into the final of the men’s competition, while three-time Asian Cup champion Liu Shiwen and 2012 Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia advanced to a mouth-watering meeting for the women’s crown.

There was no doubt of the superiority of the Chinese in this three-day competition as they lapped up all the glory - leaving Hong Kong and Singapore to battle for the bronze medals in this competition that is being held as part of the Dubai Sports Council’s strategy of spreading community-based sports in the country.

Zhang first secured a 4-1 win over Chinese Taipei’s Chiang Hung-Chieh in the quarter-final before a rather lop-sided 4-2 (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8) win over Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting in the semi-final.

In the upper half of the draw, the third seeded Xu used his pen-hold grip to maximum advantage for a 4-1 result against South Korean Lee Sangsu and then defeated Singapore’s Gao Ning 4-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-4, 11-1) for a spot in the final against his teammate and Olympic champion Zhang.

In the women’s part of the draw, Liu Shiwen got the better of Ito Mima of Japan 4-1 in the quarter-finals before accounting for Hong Kong’s Tie Yana 4-0 (11-1, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4) in quick time in the first semi-final.

“I have not much of a preference in who I am going to play in the final. This is the final and and I will be giving off my best to try and win this one. Rio is still a long way off and I am still very far away from a medal there [Rio],” Liu told media.

In the lower half, Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia fought off a fierce challenge 4-2 in the quarter-finals from Hong Kong’s Jiang Huajun, but later came in with her left thigh strapped to dethrone defending champion Feng Tianwei of Singapore 4-2 (11-7, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6) in another interesting match and advance to a final meeting against her teammate.

“Both of us know each other’s games very well, and whoever plays better will be the new Asian champion,” Li said.

She was made aware of her qualifying for the Rio Olympics just after her win in the semi-finals. “It’s a great moment for me. Four years back I was younger, but now I am among genuine challengers who can win a medal in Brazil,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Indian challenge collapsed earlier in the afternoon with Soumyajit Ghosh following his teammate Manika Batra in the knock-out stages of the men’s and women’s competitions respectively. Ghosh went down 1-4 against Korean Lee Sangsu in the fight for positions 5 to 8 after the lanky girl from New Delhi had gone down 1-3 to Hong Kong’s Jiang Huajun in the women’s challenge semi-finals earlier in the morning.

Saturday’s action will get underway at 2pm with the women’s and men’s bronze medal matches, followed by the women’s final at 3.30pm and the men’s final at 4.30pm.

RESULTS

(Men) Semi-finals: Xu Xin (China) def. Gao Ning (Singapore) 4-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-4, 11-1); Zhang Jike (China) def. Wong Chun Ting (Hong Kong) 4-2 (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8.

(Women) Semi-finals: Liu Shiwen (China) def. Tie Yana (Hong Kong) 4-0 (11-1, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4); Li Xiaoxia (China) def. Feng Tianwei (Singapore) 4-2 (11-7, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6).

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

(2 pm – Women’s bronze medal) Tie Yana (Hong Kong) x Feng Tianwei (Singapore)

(2.45 pm – Men’s bronze medal) Wong Chun Ting (Hong Kong) x Gao Ning (Singapore)

(3.30 pm – Women’s final) Liu Shiwen (China) x Li Xiaoxia (China)

(4.30 pm – Men’s final) Xu Xin (China) x Zhang Jike (China)