Xu Yingbin of China celebrates during the men's singles event at the World Table Tennis Championships Star Contender Bangkok 2023, Thailand, April 26, 2023. /WTT
World No. 47 China's Xu Yingbin stunned top seed Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan and cruised into the last 16 in the men's singles event at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Championships Star Contender Bangkok 2023 in Thailand on Wednesday.
Men's world No. 4 Harimoto entered the round of 32 automatically as the top seed and faced Xu for the first time. Coming from a difficult five-game victory in the first round, the 22-year-old Xu took the first game 12-10 before Harimoto tied the score 11-9.
Despite the huge discrepancy in the world ranking, Xu, ranked No. 47, went on to win the match 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2.
Chen Xingtong (R) and Kuai Man of China compete in the women's doubles quarterfinals at the World Table Tennis Championships Star Contender Bangkok 2023, Thailand, April 26, 2023. /Xinhua
Xu will next face compatriot Yuan Licen, world No. 32, in the quarterfinals, who defeated 2019 World Championships bronze medalist An Jae-hyun from South Korea 11-1, 5-11, 13-11, 11-6 in a tenacious clash.
The Chinese table tennis team swept through the matches on Wednesday, led by Liang Jingkun in the men's singles and Chen Xingtong in the women's singles but also joined by the younger players. Chinese pairs also made it to the semifinals of the men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
(With input from Xinhua)