The world's best players are duking it out in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The occasion is the T2 Diamond Series, which offers substantially higher prize money and world ranking points than regular ITTF World Tour events. One unique facet of the Diamond is that games need not be decided by two points. If you get to eleven points, you win! Another exciting feature is a 24-minute game clock. Any match unfinished at the buzzer plays all subsequent games as sudden death to five points, a phase aptly titled FAST5. Even with all of these distractions, the Chinese team maintained perfect focus on the opening day. So dominant were the Chinese team that the only loss they suffered was a result of friendly fire. In an opening-round matchup in the men's draw, fellow Chinese lefty shakehand attackers Lin Gaoyuan (pictured) and Wang Chuqin squared off with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Wang, ranked 71st in the world, had the ideal start against world #2 Lin, taking the first game 11-7. Lin was in no mood to entertain further thoughts of an upset, securing the next three games at 11. During the fourth game, however, the buzzer sounded, signaling that games would shift to FAST5. The fifth game milked the format for maximum drama, arriving at 4-all. While Lin held match point, leading 3-1, Wang could cut the lead to 3-2 and enter game 6 with momentum with a single point. Alas, for fans of underdogs, it was not to be. Lin secured the point, game and match in one fell swoop, to advance with a 4-1 victory. Likewise, it was success across the board for China on all opening day matches. Wang Manyu, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha all advanced in the women's draw, with countrywomen Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling awaiting their first matches. On the men's side, Ma Long and Xu Xin joined the aforementioned Lin Gaoyuan in the second round, with teammates Fan Zhendong and Liang Jingkun awaiting their turns to add to China's opening round massacre. While the matches may have a different format, the results are quite familiar. A rapidly dwindling number of players now cling to hope that they can deny China their diamond destiny.

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