Defending champ Zhang Jike scared before setting up Olympic semi against Samsonov

Gold medalist in London, Zhang Jike, kept his title defending campaign going here on Tuesday, beating Japanese sensation Koki Niwa 4-1 to make the men' s singles semifinals.

Easily beaten 11-5 in the first set, the 28-year-old fought back in style from the second set, rounding up the five-set quarterfinal in 34 minutes, 5-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7, 11-4.

Trailing 7-5 in the fourth set, Zhang' s national team head coach Liu Guoliang, a table tennis Grand Slam winner himself, called a timeout and Zhang came back to win six points in a row and never looked back.

"My game was initially scheduled at 5:30 in the afternoon and I came to the stadium at 4:45 before knowing that (Dimitrij) Ovtchanov and (Vladimir) Samsonov' s match went just 2-2.

"So I waited and waited and found it hard to stay concentrated when I finally got to play my turn. That' s why I stumbled in the first set," said the table tennis Grand Slam winner.

The second seeded world NO. 4 will meet Belarus' 40-year-old veteran Samsonov in Thursday morning' s semifinals where he' ll try to set up an all-Chinese final with compatriot Ma Long whose quarterfinal clash against Nigeria' s "Black Horse" Quadri Aruna was scheduled later on Tuesday.

Earlier on the day, Samsonov outlasted European top paddler Ovtcharov of Germany 4-2 to advance to the men' s singles semifinals for the first time while playing at his sixth Olympic Games.

"I don' t want to put extra pressure on myself with the memories of London 2012. Each match is fresh new," added Zhang, the 2011 and 2013 world champion. Endit