Wang Chuqin of China serves during the men's singles round of 16 match against Darko Jorgic of Slovenia at the WTT Champions Xinxiang 2023 in Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province on April 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan)
Chinese paddlers kept a perfect winning record in the WTT Champions Xinxiang second round on Wednesday.
BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven Chinese paddlers came through the second round on Wednesday as quarterfinalists have been confirmed for the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Xinxiang.
Women's top-ranked Sun Yingsha rallied from one game down to see off Yang Xiaoxin of Monaco 7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-7, setting up a highly-anticipated quarterfinal clash with Japan's Mima Ito.
Wang Yidi got past Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei 3-0. Chen Xingtong eliminated Germany's Shan Xiaona in straight games.
Wang will next meet Shin Yu-bin of South Korea, while Chen will contend for a semifinal berth with teammate Wang Manyu.
Men's world No. 1 Fan Zhendong rallied past Lee Sang-su of South Korea 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5, while second seed Wang Chuqin defeated Darko Jorgic of Slovenia 12-10, 12-10, 11-5.
"Darko played great today. I felt his progress when I played against him at the World Team Table Tennis Championships last year. He has all-around style of play and is strong in rallies now. It was a difficult game for me," admitted Wang.
Wang's compatriot Liang Jingkun bounced from one game down to account for Mattias Falck of Sweden 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6. Wang and Liang will vie for a semifinal spot.
"After losing the first game, I made some adjustments and played more aggressively since the second game," commented Liang, adding that he will do his best when facing his higher-ranked teammate.
Lin Shidong of China serves during the men's singles round of 16 match against Qiu Dang of Germany at the WTT Champions Xinxiang 2023 in Xinxiang, central China's Henan Province on April 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan)
17-year-old Lin Shidong outclassed world No. 8 Qiu Dang of Germany 14-12, 11-7, 11-7.
"I made full preparation for this game. I just tried to challenge him and executed my tactics quite well on the court," explained Lin, who will square off against Fan in the quarterfinal.
After stunning sixth-ranked Truls Moregard of Sweden 3-1, French youngster Alexis Lebrun will take on South Korean Lim Jong-hoon. The other men's quarterfinal will be played between Germany's Ruwen Filus and Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei.
The tournament's quarterfinals will take place on Thursday, with the semifinals and final scheduled on Friday and Saturday respectively. ■
