China's Lin Gaoyuan competes in the men's singles match at the WTT Singapore Smash in Singapore, March 15, 2023. /CFP
World No. 12 Lin Gaoyuan came out as the winner against world No. 7 Liang Jingkun in full sets in an all-Chinese men's singles round of 16 at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash on Wednesday.
Lin started out strongly and won the first two sets 11-8, 11-8, but Liang recovered from that to force a decider by taking the following two sets 11-6 and 11-9. Lin held firm to come through 11-8 in the deciding set.
"As I lost to Liang many times before, I prepared well for today's match, trying to hit long rallies and unleash my strength," Lin said while admitting that his opponent hit some balls beyond his expectations in the third and fourth games.
"There is no way back for me in the deciding set, so I just tried to play more aggressively," he added.
China's Qian Tianyi competes in the women's singles match at the WTT Singapore Smash in Singapore, March 15, 2023. /CFP
Top seed Fan Zhendong of China demonstrated his prowess by overwhelming Lim Jong-hoon of South Korea 11-3, 11-2, 11-5. World's third-ranked Wang Chuqin registered a straight-set victory over Quek Izaac of Singapore 11-4, 11-6, 11-7, and will next face compatriot Lin Gaoyuan.
The Singaporean rising star said after the game, "usually, my service against left-handers are not bad, but I couldn't find a way past him as he is already used to different spins and services training with the best players in China and has very high shot quality."
"In the third game, I decided to play more rallies because his short game is definitely better than mine. I tried different strategies but there was still no way for way to win, which proves I'm still not strong enough and have to continue to work hard to improve," the 16-year-old added.
Germany's Han Ying celebrates her victory in the women's singles match at the WTT Singapore Smash in Singapore, March 15, 2023. /CFP
In the women's singles round of 16, China's Zhang Rui shared the spoils with Miu Hirano of Japan after four sets before emerging victorious 11-5 in the decider.
Qian Tianyi of China bounced back from two sets down to defeat French veteran Yuan Jianan 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-6.
"I didn't fit well into rhythm of the game in the first two sets," Qian admitted. "When I was 0-2 down, I was just focused on the game without thinking much about the score, and concentrated on how to deal with the situation at the moment."
Chinese paddler Chen Xingtong could not make her way to the tournament's last eight as she lost to German chopper Han Ying 3-1.
Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha beat Chinese Taipei pair Lin Yun-Ju/Chen Szu-Yu 3-1 in the mixed doubles semifinal, while Fan Zhendong/Wang Manyu fell to Tomokazu Harimoto/Hina Hayata of Japan in straight sets.
Fan Zhendong paired with Wang Chuqin to defeat host duo Pang Yew En Koen/Quek Izaac 3-1 in the men's doubles round of 16.
Wang Manyu/Sun Yingsha advanced to the women's doubles quarterfinals after dispatching Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei and Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong, China in straight sets.
(With input from agencies)