FULL MATCH | Liang Jingkun vs Dang Qiu | MS R16 | #WTTChongqing 2026

It's the first point that goes the way of the German. Yeah, both of these two are incredibly well balanced, aren't they? You often see comments about overplay has been really good in the short game as well. Look at the timing on that from Dong Cho. It's incredible, both wings. They're looking at the best penholder in the world on his day at CrossFell. It's a little bit higher ranked inside the top ten. It's incredible how good both these two are in the touch play. Even against the reverse serve. Dong Cho able to trap the spin and keep it tight. I don't know if it's known to actually have a little bit more stability inside the table. Because of how it naturally fights gravity. You know, the way your fingers are positioned on the blade. First point on the board for Liang Jingkun. Perfect location from Jingkun. I just wasn't expecting it as deep as it came back, Dong Cho. You can see he was over the table because of the half-long shot and he couldn't get back out in time. Both of these players are previous event winners on the WTT stage. Liang Jingkun beating the 2024 champions Incheon. As he holds on to the backhand there of the German. And then for Dong Cho. Winning really impressively at the Star Contender London last year. Beating Tomokazu Harimoto in the final. That was a thriller. Thriller of a final there in London. This is the second time we've seen Liang Jingkun really punish a short forehand. Is that something he's engineering and setting up? Yeah, with that reverse serve. So playing it into that short forehand. Even sometimes occasionally more towards the middle. If you were able to come around the other side of the ball, that received going into his forehand. Because of the spin on the ball. What a swing in momentum here. Liang Jingkun was 3-0 down and then takes the next six points. He's got a three-point lead here in Game 1. Make that a four-point lead. Patience was key on that receive. He just waited. And he gauged the force Dong Cho had put through the serve. Obviously not that much because it was half-long, but it was long enough. To wait and grease it. Talk to me about the term grease it. Because we use it a lot as players. What do you mean by it? So when you grease it, you're putting so much spin on the ball. It's that maximum traction. You're skimming it with so much dwell. Making full use of that grippy rubber. And that is so hard to sponge up and contain if you're trying to block it or counter it. That one wasn't. Yeah, that reverse penhold backhand that Dong Cho has is a thing of beauty when it's going. And he's going to need it. 5-8. Just lets him down on that occasion. And you heard the roar, the celebration. So expressive around the table. It's one of the reasons why people love him so much. He lives the game. 8-6. Again, it's that RPB dishing out some real damage down the line. Two of the best there. For the new lease of life from Liang. He was interesting in his interview after he defeated Xiang Pan. Taking the pressure off himself. He's one of the most senior members of the A-team. And he started well. And he's earned himself four game points in the opener. A loose shot there going into the middle. Liang caught in between two potential shots there. That's one save by the German. But he couldn't do it again. Liang Jingkun has come out. Liang Jingkun last year en route to that semi-final. He beat the Australian Finn Liu. And Team China's Lin Gaoyuan in the round of 16. He tried to push the pace on that rally. And then it was France. France's Félix Lebrun. In an epic five game. Final. He eventually succumbed to Lin Shidong who was on fire at the time. Liang Jingkun. I'm interested to hear about the run of Deng Chao as well. He's a history maker at champions level. He was the first European to reach a champions final. Did that in Macau. Yeah, so at the first event here in 2024. Kanak Jha fell to Deng Chao in the round of 32. Zhang Wujin in the round of 16. And then Felix again. Liang Jingkun is so aggressive out here. He brought back a great memory there. That flashback to the match against Félix. That was outstanding. But I don't know how Liang made it through. He's had more issues against this penholder. Deng Chao right now is struggling to get a word in edgeways. Yeah, he finds himself one game down and 5-1 down in points. Do you think he needs to change up? It's tough to say. I think Liang's dominating touch play. Protecting his crossover better than Deng. Taking on backhands for middle. Switching the direction of play more than the German. It's going to be tough from here. Maybe Deng should try to play a few more no spin serves. Try and drive the ball like he did there to be fair. He's dominating the touch play. And I think Liang is gauging the distance that he needs to be so, so well. Deng sometimes finding himself a bit too close to the table. Is that because he's trying to shut down Liang Jingkun? Yeah, he's trying to take time away from his opponent as he likes to. Maybe he's got to take a more free approach. Pivot a bit more. A bit of spawning from our umpire. 6-3 up though, Liang Jingkun. And we normally see Deng Chao just dominate people in the short game. But it seems to be the opposite here. I've always said, Liang has incredible touch. Better than Chu Chin, better than Chidong, better than a lot of players who are higher ranked. It'll be interesting if we do eventually get to see a match between Liang and Chu Chin because Liang beat him at the Singapore Smash a couple of years ago. He's got a lot of fun but he's got some work to do here. To just see off the threat of the German. Who was 5-1 down, remember, in this game and brings it back to within a two point game. It's 7-5 to Liang Jingkun. Just a note, the man who awaits the winner of this in the next round, Andre Boer, who pulled off a stunning upset over world number two, Charles Morgaard. Don't make Boer want to keep your eye out on. Because he's like a knife through butter at the moment. It was a great comeback against Trolls. He was what, 1-0, 10-7 down. Let's see what happens here. Three ahead, three away. Good placement from the former European champion. He's got two serves of his own here. Finds himself 6-8 down. Liang Jingkun likes to receive short backspin serves on the forehand with his backhand. Stepping right across. I think that's just because he's more comfortable. I know he didn't get to see it there. He's not more comfortable receiving serves into short forehand with the backhand. But maybe he wants to play a flick and then all of a sudden realises he can't. So he's looking to get, like he did there, looking to get that backhand attack in. But then at the last moment, having to kind of improvise it. Shows you the details that's going on here. Just like that. But then he'd just have played the flick. And it brings him four game points here for a 2-0 lead. Over the higher ranked, remember, by one place. World number 12, Dan Zhou. Slow and steady spin. Wins the race in game number two. Recently, the Asian Championships, where he helped China defeat Japan 3-2. He is one of the best players ever. And one of the most complete players ever. Liang Jingkun. Full array of skills on display there. The beautiful touch play into the backhand. The ball boy's not going. Jörg Roscoff's actually going to get the ball. That's the oldest ball boy I've ever seen. Maybe that's something we can do at WTT Legends. Can have ball boys sat in the corner. Former doubles world champion, by the way, Jörg Roscoff. Incredible mind. He's been there for donks, hasn't he? That's the head coach of Team Germany on the men's side. Last German standing here, Dan Zhou. Because, of course, Franziska was beaten by Xu Xin. Benedikt Düder didn't enter. Tied after the first ball. Big powerful forehand, that one, from Liang. Lays down the law. Dan Zhou, too, has such a complete game. Maestro in the touch, like you mentioned, Zhou. Incredible on both wings. Sometimes it'd be nice to see a little bit more flair from him. It's like he's a penhold player, but with the approach of a shakehander. It's so interesting. We normally associate penhold players as flair players. Ma Lin, Xu Xin. It's the German who has a two-point advantage. They've got a three-point advantage. I don't want to suggest anything, Fraser, but at their last meeting, Champions Macau, quarter-final, Liang Junkun was 2-0 up. And it feels like momentum is starting to go the way of the German here. What has he changed? Is there anything noticeable? He's just more relaxed. Tactics-wise, there's only one or two ways you can really exploit Junkun in the rally, and I think that, as we see Dan Zhou just get a bit of fortune there to extend the lead. Yeah, second time in recent memory, there was that big edge that went on. We're just seeing a more relaxed Dan Zhou. Somebody's taking the pressure off himself. Cashed in an IOU there. Ball flick in the back edge. I think we see Junkun has put a bit more pressure on himself to finish this. As a reminder, the last three meetings between these two have gone the distance. Twice was a 3-2 victory for Dan Zhou. And then before that, at the World Championships in Houston in 2021, in a best-of-seven, it was Liang Junkun who came out on top, winner 4-3 in the end. If history is anything to go by, we've still got a long way to go yet in this one. I won't mind that one bit. I think Liang Junkun plays his best stuff in deciders. So many incredible highlight reel moments. And I'm wondering, you know, the stage in his career that he's at, how he's feeling, what he's thinking, what the motivation is. He's not that old in terms of athletes. Only 29, both of these 29. But it's the 29-year-old representing Germany, Dan Zhou, who has six game points now to put one on the board. It was must-win, and that's exactly what he does. Dan Zhou was talking about it yesterday. Obviously, his parents are Chinese. His dad's actually here coaching Yukiya Uda for Japan. Yeah, he's not fazed by playing against Team China players. And that's a big factor. That's over half the battle. What a stunning reply from Liang Junkun. I thought he was done and dusted because it was a great push. Just about picked it up, the big man. But what a counter. Oh! My word. This could get spicy here at the home of the hot pot in Chongqing. The Germans still trying to apply pressure. Again, we see that slower, spinnier ball causing issues for the German. He's capable of doing everything. Great body control. He's amazing at knowing when he needs to inject a bit of spin. Take off a little bit of pace. We saw the backhand receive there from Liang Junkun again. Short forehand, but he's choosing to play the backhand. It just caught him out there. This time adjust with the forehand, but he eats a big backhand. I can't genuinely tell you who is more drilled on tour than Dan Zhou. Everything about it. What do you mean? What do you mean by well drilled? Just the way he serves, touches, plays. The way he tucks in his shirt and has the headband on. He's such an immaculate professional. I think that has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages. Ball was on a string. It looked like it was on fast forward for a moment. Dan Zhou getting forced off camera. Big counters though. This is what we want to see. Timing and the rhythm. The variation. Luo Jiqing was just saying to Liang Junkun, keep things mixed up. Don't always play power. And there he did. Liang Junkun caught a rocket there, didn't he? Yeah, absolutely. Put it in his pipe and smoked it. I think it's the variation here that Liang Junkun is going to look to play. Because we saw how good Dan Zhou was at that quick pace. Even off the table, he wants that constant rhythm. Everybody at this level wants a more regular rhythm. Variation is the name of the game. Well, we're tied at six apiece. Second tail break of the game. Liang Junkun with two serves to come. That out of his pocket. He was in his shorts and somehow he contorted his body. There must have been some topspin. And I mean some topspin on that serve because it ballooned up. It nearly hit the titan drone above the players. What a serve you've got to get to be able to confuse that man. Oh, what a combination. Code and lock in the safe. Big man puffs out his cheeks. But the big man is inching towards the finish line. He's now two away and crucially has two serves of his own here. To book a place in the quarterfinals. A reminder, the last three times these two have played, it's gone the distance. There's a big rueful grin from Liang. Shaky, shaky. Short forehand. Oh, the quality. The activation. The touch and then the wave. He kept everything so neat and tidy. Dan Cho, the two-time champions finalist. I was going to say it's 9-9 and crucially he's got two serves of his own and he's been handcuffed. Oh, the fans thought that missed. It's a tight, tight net. You should have seen it earlier between Nicholas Lum and Matsushima. About 22 nets in a row. Is it destined, Joe? You've said it more times than I can count. A slider between these two. Brothers with different rubbers. Game point. Dan Cho. 11-9. It's the combination again. You did that to me the other day and I'm going to get payback. Okay. Which way are you going, Fraser? Who do you think is going to take this? I'm going with Dan Cho. Why? He can't serve at 9-7, man. But it's a tough one because we know how good Liang is in deciders. We know how clutch he can be. Back down, didn't take a back step. The crowd are starting to rumble. Liang's going to be wary of that Dan Cho combo. That meal deal special. The long push to middle and the backhand down the line. Maybe it'll be hard for him to stop the long push to middle. He tried to spin into the forehand to avoid it but Dan Cho was there. Peeking through the grass. He's always so well balanced, isn't he? Even when you catch him stretching. On the rare occasion you can find space on the table against Dan Cho. He's just so good. RBB chop and somehow Liang missed it. Timeouts are used as well. These guys are out there on their own. What did he do? Did he misread how much backspin was on the ball, do you think? There was no backspin at all on it. It was a float. It was a knuckleball like in soccer, like in baseball. Wow. Dan Cho with the point advantage here. 3-2. What has he just done to that ball? You can't teach that, can you? He was stretching for it but the amount of quality he's still got on it. And it's a two-point advantage for the German. 2-5. You mentioned previously about Lian Junquan as he just taps his head with the bat. Surely a sign to think his way through this, about taking pace off the ball, playing slower. Macho man that he is, Dan Cho. But I think he's going to have to show a silky aside to shut down this runaway penholder. And the crowd in Chongqing are reacting. They know they need to rally their man here. They love Dan Cho but of course the Team China A-lister needs their support. Spin on those backhands, wasn't he, Dan? It was like Michael Mays for a moment. But it's Lian Junquan who just holds the ball back on the table. Gets that forehand in. And now it's him that's rallying. It's a one-point pool game again. Joe, mate, it was the call of the century. You were saying this could be the match of the event and it's fitting the billing. Forehand flip, barely seen it. I doubt Lian was trying to bait him with something as high as that. That would be just too risky but he was able to just about get it back. 80 points played. 40 apiece now. He might as well have started this match in the deciding game. Deuce. Deja vu. You mentioned it. That backhand up the line, Fraser. It's just buttery on the backhand, isn't it? How risky is it to play the short side? It seems riskier but when you practice it all day long... I guess it's not risky at all. You see the difference in technique there. You mentioned it, the well-balanced groove. Everything in the right position for Dan Cho. Stays close. And it's earned him a two-point advantage and now two serves of his own to come. 7-5 he now leads in the decider. 8-5. Hold your breaths because it's not over yet. He might have just delivered another bunt down the line. Which surely Lian is getting sick and tired of by now. Stumbled a little bit there, Jing Kun. But we know Lian is capable of coming back. 5-9. It's another one. It's a finisher that he's using like he's on a video game. And he's 9-5 up. He's two points away. It's Dan Cho. A round of applause because they love what they're seeing here. Penholder looking to draw another lion through a Chinese name. Set up a clash with Wenrui Bo. The young shark. There's still work to do, Joe. This can't, surely not. I hope you've just jinxed it. This man, Jing Kun, he's come back against the best in the business. He came back at the World Championships from three down against Hugo Colorado in Houston. He's been here before the big man. But this could be crunch time. The short game. As Roskov looks on unmoved. As it's the subtlety and the soft hands from the German that earns him three huge match points here in Chongqing. Oh, this is just ridiculous. There was nowhere else for him to go. But Lian Jing Kun found the one spot. The one opening. It keeps him alive here. This is literally darts at a hundred miles an hour. With the long receive, finally sees off the challenge.