BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Home favorite Sun Yingsha suffered a second-round exit after a 3-1 loss to Thailand's Orawan Paranang at the 2026 WTT China Smash on Wednesday.
World No. 1 Sun, who had beaten Paranang 4-0 in the round of 16 at the 2026 Asian Games, took the opening game 11-8 before the Thai leveled the match with an 11-4 win in the second.
Trailing 10-8 in the third, Sun saved two game points before eventually losing 12-10. She then led 10-8 in the fourth but dropped four consecutive points to lose another tight game 12-10 and the match.
"Orawan prepared for and played this match well. It's quite normal for athletes to have some ups and downs. Coming here after the Asian Games, physically I'm not feeling quite well. I had a fever last night. I didn't play at my level today," Sun said.
Sun said she hoped to recover over the next half month and approach the upcoming WTT Champions Montpellier in her best form.
"There is nothing to be over concerned about. I hope to get back into good physical condition as soon as possible," she added.
Speaking of her emotion the moment she won, Paranang said, "At that moment, I didn't think anything. I was just like, 'Really? I can beat her, No. 1 in the world.' Nothing in my head, I'm just happy."
"I tried to do my best. I played against her many times and I always lost. I tried to focus on my game. Before the game, my coach and I talked about how to receive her serve, and I did very well in the game," she added.
In their first encounter, China's Chen Xingtong eased past Singapore's Ser Lin Qian 11-6, 11-4, 11-6.
"I didn't adjust to her rhythm quite well at the start," Chen admitted. "After playing half a game, I was better and better on that."
Fourth seed Kuai Man beat compatriot Zong Geman 3-1, setting up a round-of-16 clash with fellow Chinese player Zhu Sibing, who edged Chinese Taipei's Chien Tung-chuan in a five-game battle.
Looking ahead to another all-Chinese duel, two-time WTT Grand Smash finalist Kuai said, "I haven't played Zhu for a long time. Facing her defensive style, I need to make better preparations and go all out."
Chinese qualifier Liu Ziling, 15, saw her campaign end after an 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 loss to Japanese chopper Hitomi Sato.
In the men's singles, China's Liang Jingkun, playing in his first international competition in almost five months since the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, lost to Chinese Taipei's Kuo Guan-hong 11-7, 11-2, 6-11, 12-10.
World No. 1 Sora Matsushima of Japan dispatched Australian wild card Finn Luu in straight games, while third seed Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan was again taken to five games before seeing off South Korea's Park Gang-hyeon.
Zhou Qihao rallied from two games down to beat Xiang Peng in an all-Chinese clash and will next face Harimoto.
China's Wen Ruibo and Yuan Licen reached the men's doubles quarterfinals after edging Japan's Sora Matsushima and Shunsuke Togami in five games.
Leading 7-4 in the decider, Wen and Yuan then lost six consecutive points before saving three straight match points to level at 10-10. The Chinese duo eventually prevailed 16-14.
"We had expected this situation," Yuan said. "We didn't handle some balls well in the second and third games, suffering some unforced errors and giving the opponents opportunities."
They were joined in the last eight by compatriots Liang Jingkun and Xiang Peng, who eliminated seventh-seeded Belgian pair Martin Allegro and Adrien Rassenfosse 3-1.
Also on Wednesday, Chinese pairs Wang Manyu/Kuai Man, Chen Yi/Li Yihui, Wang Yidi/Jiang Yiyi and Gao Yuxin/Xiang Junlin advanced to the women's doubles quarterfinals.
In the mixed doubles quarterfinals, China's Huang Youzheng and Chen Yi lost to Japan's Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto in five games. ■
