BUDAPEST, April 26 -- Liu Shiwen shut out two-time defending champion and Chinese team captain Ding Ning in the women's singles semifinals and went on to win the mixed doubles gold here on Friday at the table tennis worlds.
A women's singles semifinal saw Liu come from two sets down to crush the more heralded teammate 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-0, 11-2.
Liu admited she denied Ding any point in the fourth set because she respects her rival.
"In a major event like the world championships, I tried very hard on every point because I respect Ding Ning very much," she said.
Liu will vie for the singles title with her compatriot Chen Meng, who won 11-5, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 in the other all-Chinese semifinal against Wang Manyu.
Late in the day, Liu and Xu Xin nipped defending champions Kasumi Ishikawa/Maharu Yoshimura from Japan 4-1 in the mixed doubles final.
Two-time defending champion Ma Long routed fellow Chinese Lin Gaoyuan 4-0 and will meet another Chinese Liang Jingkun, who edged Japanese Koki Niwa 4-3, in Saturday's semifinals.
Sweden's Mattias Falck beat France's Simon Gauzy 4-1 while An Jaehyun downed fellow South Korean Jang Woojin 4-3.
Ma Long/Wang Chuqin defeated Liang Jingkun/Lin Gaoyuan 4-0 in an all-Chinese men's doubles semifinal on Friday night.
They will fight for the championship against Romania's Ionescu/Spain's Alvaro Robles, 4-3 winners over Portugal's Tiago Apolonia/Joao Monteiro.