MACAO, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese table tennis stars Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin battled through intense matches and dramatic comebacks to reach the ITTF World Cup semifinals, on a day also marked by significant upsets at the Galaxy Arena in Macao on Saturday.
In the women's quarterfinals, 18-year-old Egyptian sensation Hana Goda pushed world No. 1 Sun to the limit. Sun eventually claimed a hard-fought 4-3 (13-11, 11-8, 14-16, 5-11, 10-12, 11-3, 13-11) victory in a breathtaking match.
Sun started strong, winning the first two games. However, Goda mounted a fierce comeback, clinching the third 16-14 and then the next two games to take a surprising 3-2 lead. Sun regrouped, dominating the sixth game to force a decider. In a nail-biting seventh game, Sun trailed 10-8 but saved match points to win 13-11, securing her spot in the semifinals.
"Hana has grown incredibly fast over the past few years, and her overall strength has improved significantly. She played exceptionally well today," Sun said.
Also on Saturday, World No. 1 Wang Chuqin secured a dramatic 4-3 comeback win over Slovenia's world No. 16 Darko Jorgic to reach the men's last four.
Wang took the first game quickly 11-4. However, Jorgic found his rhythm, winning the next three games 11-9, 11-7 and 11-9. With his back against the wall, Wang rallied in a fiercely contested fifth game, eventually winning 12-10 to stay alive. He then dominated the sixth game 11-6, leveling the match at 3-3. In the decisive seventh game, Wang built a commanding lead, and despite a late surge from Jorgic, he closed it out 11-8 to complete a memorable comeback and advance to the semifinals.
"Applause to Darko, we had a fantastic match," Wang said. "After falling behind 3-1, coach Wang Hao told me to sit down on the couch and talked to me, and I calmed down. If I hadn't calmed down, it really would have been over," he added. "Even though I was behind, I still felt I couldn't give up. I wanted to fight for every single point."
When asked about areas for improvement after playing strong opponents like Felix Lebrun and Jorgic, Wang was humble. "There are too many," he said. "I'm very lucky to have survived another day, and I'll carry this luck forward."
China's world No. 2 Wang Manyu also secured her place in the semifinals, defeating Japan's Honoka Hashimoto 4-2. The scores were 8-11, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9.
The day also saw several big upsets. In the women's singles, Germany's Sabine Winter delivered a massive shock by sweeping China's Wang Yidi 4-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8). Winter will meet Sun Yingsha in the semis. South Korea's Shin Yubin also dispatched China's Chen Xingtong with a commanding 4-1 victory (11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-0, 11-9).
On the men's side, Japan's Sora Matsushima, ranked 8th in the world, put on a dominant display, sweeping Sweden's world No. 2 Truls Moregard 4-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-8, 11-1) to confidently advance to the next round.
The semifinals and finals will be held on Sunday. ■
