Chinese players advance to round of 16 in Sweden at WTT Europe Smash

Three Chinese players – Sun Yingsha, Chen Xingtong, and Chen Yi – advanced to the women's singles round of 16 at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Europe Smash in Malmo, Sweden, on Wednesday.

Sun knocked out French veteran Jia Nan Yuan 3-1. The two players had met twice before in WTT competitions, with Sun winning both matches. She grabbed the first game in their latest engagement 11-2, but struggled to return Yuan's high-toss serves in the second, which the 40-year-old took 11-6.

After talking to her coach during the break and adapting to her opponent's play, Sun regained control in the third game, which she claimed 11-5. The top seed then clinched the fourth 11-6 to seal the deal. Sun will face 13th seed Hina Hayata of Japan next.

Chen Xingtong faced 21-year-old Prithika Pavade of France in the second round. Pavade unexpectedly took the first game 11-8, but Chen bounced back quickly to claim the next three games, surging to a comeback victory. She trailed 10-8 in a captivating fourth game, but scored four consecutive points to slam the door. Her next opponent will be Sabine Winter of Germany.

Chen Yi eliminated South Korea's Joo Cheon-hui 3-0 to seal her place in the last 16. All three games were close, but Chen displayed an excellent ability to convert key points en route to the win. She will take on Bruna Takahashi of Brazil for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Sun joined forces with Wang Manyu to progress in the women's doubles event, defeating Xiaona Shan of Germany and Ng Wing Lam of China's Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) in straight games 11-8, 11-5, 11-5. They will meet Hana Matelova of the Czech Republic and Barbora Balazova of Slovakia in the last eight.

In the mixed doubles event, China's Lin Shidong and Kuai Man reached the semifinals after beating Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei 11-4, 11-3, 13-11. They will face Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs of Romania next.