Quarterfinal field completed for WTT Champions
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E-mail Xinhua, April 13, 2023
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.
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.
