World number one MA Long (CHN) has been sensationally knocked out of the Liebherr 2017 ITTF Men’s World Cup in the semi finals by German legend Timo BOLL (GER).
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Before this epic match, the last time the World and Olympic champion MA has lost to a non-Chinese player was back in 2012, where he lost to CHUANG Chih-Yuan. Since then, MA Long has gone on to win two World Championships titles and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Gold and was seen to be unbeatable!
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This all changed today, as 36-year-old BOLL rolled back the years to make one of the biggest upsets in table tennis history, coming back from 1-3 to beat MA 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 to book his place in the final and a chance to win a third Men’s World Cup crown.
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BOLL’s win today, coupled with him, saving seven match points yesterday to beat the other Chinese player at the competition LIN Gaoyuan in the quarterfinals means that there will be a non-Chinese winner for the first time in seven years and signals that the rest of the world are starting to catch up with the Chinese.
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BOLL, who had the capacity crown on his feet stated: “I don’t know what to say because it was a crazy match. Being down by 1-3 against such a great player like Ma Long. Even when I was down, I was a bit more relaxed trying to enjoy the game. I must also thank the fans for their support. I think I had nice feeling and having such feeling against such a great player was helpful.”
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Timo BOLL will now play his countryman Dimitrij OVTCHAROV in the final, who beat Simon GAUZY (FRA) 6-11, 11-2, 11-8, 10-12, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8.