DOHA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Men's singles top seed Lin Shidong of China survived a five-game battle to beat Germany's Benedikt Duda, while women's top seed Wang Manyu of China powered into the quarterfinals with a straight-game victory over France's Prithika Pavade at the World Table Tennis Champions Doha on Friday.
After losing the first game 11-8, Lin turned it around by winning the next two games 11-6, 11-8, only to see the 12th-ranked German force a decider 11-6. World No. 2 Lin didn't let his chance slip away, triumphing 11-6 to secure his last-eight spot.
"It was a tough battle. I had prepared for the difficulties, and had a good mindset throughout the match," Lin said.
Liang Jingkun won an all-Chinese duel 11-7, 11-3, 11-7 against Chen Yuanyu, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Lin, while another Chinese paddler Zhou Qihao fell in four games to Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto.
On the women's side, Wang met little challenge from Pavade on the way to an 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 win.
"Despite the 3-0 scoreline, I didn't play quite well on some shots down the stretch, including losing consecutive points when I led 7-3 in the second game, which I need to avoid in the future matches," Wang noted.
Her teammates Kuai Man, Chen Xingtong and Wang Yidi also moved through, while Chen Yi became the only victim of the Chinese women's team as she conceded a two-game lead before losing to German veteran Han Ying, 4-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5.
The men's and women's quarterfinals are scheduled on Saturday, with both semifinals and finals to be held on Sunday. ■
