The Singapore Smash continues to showcase the prowess of Chinese table tennis athletes as top-seeded paddlers advance to the next rounds.
In the men's singles, No. 1 seed Wang Chuqin secured his place in the tournament by defeating local player Koen Pang with scores of 11-7, 11-7, 11-8. Despite Pang's world ranking of 142, he posed significant challenges in the second and third games, leading Wang to acknowledge him as a tough opponent in best-of-five matches.
Wang will now face the 15th-seeded Anton Kallberg of Sweden, who previously overcame him at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Frankfurt in Germany. Anticipating a challenging matchup, Wang expressed his readiness for the tough clash ahead.
Meanwhile, No. 4 seed Liang Jingkun made a remarkable comeback against German veteran Dimitrij Ovtcharov, winning 6-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 15-13. Liang's next opponent will be another German competitor, Ricardo Walther.
On the women's side, fourth-seeded Chen Xingtong dominated her match against Shao Jieni of Portugal with straight sets of 11-5, 11-8, 11-6. Chen is set to compete against Romania's 13th seed Bernadette Szocs in the upcoming round.
Second-seeded Wang Manyu advanced by defeating Chien Tung-Chuan of Chinese Taipei 14-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3. She will join her women's doubles partner Kuai Man in the last 16.
With strong performances from Chinese athletes, the Singapore Smash continues to highlight China's dominant presence in the world of table tennis.
