Chinese pairs win two golds at WTT Star Contender Lanzhou

LANZHOU, China, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese paddlers lifted two trophies in women's doubles and mixed doubles on Saturday at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province.

Wang Manyu and Chen Meng were crowned women's doubles champions, as top seeds Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee of South Korea withdrew from the final because of Shin's injury.

In the mixed doubles final, China's Kuai Man and Lin Shidong faced off against Hina Hayata and Tomokazu Harimoto for the second time this year. They overturned a 1-0 deficit to beat the Japanese duo 3-2 in the final.

In the men's doubles, France's brothers Alexis Lebrun and Felix Lebrun won against Xu Yingbin and Lin Shidong 3-2 in the final.

"Chinese paddlers are always tough to beat, so we are very happy to be crowned here in this tournament," said elder brother Alexis after the match.

Felix added that this was their first win in the WTT Series final as a pair, and that they would continue to improve in the future.

In the men's singles, Olympic champion Ma Long defeated compatriot Liang Jingkun 3-1 and will face Felix Lebrun in the semifinals.

"I played against Felix Lebrun last year and that was a hard game. I believe his potential has grown a lot during the past year. Tomorrow's game will not be easy," said Ma after the match.

In the women's draw, world champion Sun Yingsha and compatriots Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong filled all four spots in the semifinals.