Chinese veteran Ma Long battled past teammate Zeng Beixun to reach the third round of the WTT China Smash on Wednesday.
The six-time Olympic champion won the second round by 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 12-10 to set up his next match with South Korea's Lee Sang-su.
Ma Long in action during the WTT China Smash second round match in Beijing, China, October 2, 2024. /CFP
Facing one of China's most decorated Olympians, the 21-year-old Zeng led early 5-1 in the first game, only to be reversed by Ma with a 11-8 win. Ma went on to take the second 11-6, but Zeng put up a fight to take the third also with 11-6. Ma stepped up his game in the fourth to claim victory, yet he praised his younger rival for a decent performance as a qualifier.
"This is the first time for us to meet at a major event. I scored the decisive points to seal the victory," said Ma. "Zeng made great progress recently. I am really delighted to see more talents growing to keep the overall strength of Chinese table tennis at a high level."
Zhou Qihao (L) and Dimitrij Ovtcharov in action during the WTT China Smash second round match in Beijing, China, October 2, 2024. /CFP
Also on Wednesday, China's Zhou Qihao won an epic battle against Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov in five games.
With a 3-0 record against the former world number one, Zhou won their fourth encounter 9-11, 10-12, 11-5, 15-13, 11-4.
The German veteran started well by taking the first frame. He led 6-3 in the second, and continued with the margin at 8-5, before Zhou won four points in a row to go 9-8 ahead. The veteran showed his experience in key moment to level at 9-9 and went on to lead overall 2-0 with a 12-10 victory in the second frame.
The Chinese then made a 7-1 run in the third, and held to win his first set in the match.
The two exchanged leads in the fourth to tie at 13-13, but Zhou gained the upper hand to hold off Ovtcharov winning the frame 15-13, before he stormed to victory with a 11-4 victory in the decider. Zhou will meet teammate Liang Jingkun in the next match.