Chinese paddlers begin Asia Cup with victories at home

Players of China began their competitions at the International Table Tennis Union (ITTU)-Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) Asia Cup in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, with victories in both the men's and the women's singles events on Wednesday.

World No. 1, China's Sun Yingsha, walked over Chien Tung-Chuan of Chinese Taipei 11-2, 11-8, 11-6 in less than 22 minutes.

Sun began the first game with a quick 3-0 lead and conceded only two points before claiming it to lead 1-0 in the match. Chien put up some resistance in the second game, cutting her deficit to less than three points twice, but Sun outplayed her in the end and doubled her advantage to 2-0.

The third game started close and was tied at 4-4. Sun then scored straight serves, forcing the opponent's coach to call a timeout. However, this did not slow the Chinese ace down as she continued her dominance to seal the deal.

In the men's singles event, newly-promoted world No. 1 Lin Shidong beat Wong Chun-ting of China's Hong Kong 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 for an easy win. Wong had a good start in the first game, but he began to commit more mistakes after the score reached 5-5. Lin exploited the opportunity to clinch it and lead 1-0.

Having got used to the opponents' style of playing, Lin attacked with more aggression from the second game, leaving little room for Wong to rally. In the end, the home favorite served himself a quick victory in straight games.