China sweeps women’s singles semifinal berths at WTT Singapore Smash

Singapore: Chinese paddlers have secured the women’s singles and doubles titles of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash here on Friday.

Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Qian Tianyi and Zhang Rui took up all four spots in the women’s singles semifinals.

Top-ranked Sun came out the winner in a seven-set thriller against Joo Cheon-hui of South Korea. World No. 104 Joo gave her all to drag the match into a decider, where Sun eventually won 11-5, reports Xinhua.

Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin had a better start to the game with an 11-7 win in the first set, but the fourth-ranked Wang quickly made her response by taking the next four games: 11-7, 11-9, 12-10, 11-2. Sun and Wang will vie for a spot in the final.

Qian won in a similar manner as Wang, recovering from her loss in the first set to dispatch Sofia Polcanova of Austria 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6.

Zhang beat 39-year-old German chopper Han Ying 4-1 to book a semifinal clash with Qian.

In the women’s doubles semifinals, Wang Manyu/Sun Yingsha sailed past South Korean duo Shin Yu-bin/Jeon Ji-hee 3-0, while Chen Meng/Wang Yidi defeated Mima Ito/Hina Hayata of Japan 3-1.

Reigning Olympic champion Ma Long got past Germany’s Qiu Dang in straight sets in the men’s singles quarterfinal.

“It was probably the best match that I have played since the Singapore Smash last year. In terms of my form and hits, I performed well on the court, and I felt relatively comfortable today,” commented 34-year-old Ma.

Ma’s semifinal opponent will be Brazilian ace Hugo Calderano, who overwhelmed Quadri Aruna of Nigeria 4-0.

Wang Chuqin saw off compatriot Lin Gaoyuan 4-1, setting up a semifinal encounter with the tournament’s top seed Fan Zhendong, who accounted for Swedish prodigy Truls Moregard 4-2.

Also on Friday, Fan and Wang paired up to emerge victorious 3-1 in the men’s doubles semifinal over Yukiya Uda/Shunsuke Togami of Japan. The Chinese duo will contend for the title with Jang Woo-jin/Lim Jong-hoon of South Korea, who defeated Lin Yun-Ju/Chuang Chih-Yuan of Chinese Taipei 3-1.

–IANS