Hey table tennis fans! The action is heating up in Taiyuan, located in Shanxi Province of the Chinese mainland. Home favorite Xiang Peng stunned Singapore's Pang Koen by dropping the first game 11-6 and then surging back with three straight wins (11-7, 11-7, 11-9) to book his place in the last 16, where he faces Sweden's Kristian Karlsson. 🔥🏓
In another nail-biter, Chen Yuanyu fought through a five-game battle against Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura. Chen grabbed the first two games (11-7, 11-8), saw Yoshimura claw back with two wins (12-10, 11-7), and then sealed a decisive 11-5 in the final game. He now gears up to take on fellow Chinese competitor Wen Ruibo. Reflecting on his performance, Chen remarked, "I was a little upset for the decider, but I had a good start with my serves. It was very helpful that I built a good lead from the beginning so I could extend it and won in the end."
Over on the women’s side, top seed Qian Tianyi delivered an impressive performance by edging out Japan's Asuka Sasao in three straight games — a tight 13-11 in the opener followed by two 11-8 wins. Qian is set to face Zhu Yuling of China's Hong Kong in the round of 16, exuding major #girlpower vibes! 💪
The tournament got even more exciting as Zong Geman battled past Japan’s Anne Uesawa in a tough five-game contest, staging a comeback after an initial setback. In the mixed doubles, the duo of Xiang and Liu Weishan turned the tables on the American pairing of Kai Zhang and Zhen Deng. Despite a rough start with a 13-11 loss in the first game, they roared back with wins of 11-3, 11-5, and 14-12, setting up a quarterfinal clash against a top-seeded home pair, Xue Fei and Qian.
These matches are like real-life highlight reels — full of epic comebacks, nonstop energy, and moments that make you feel like you're watching your favorite action movie. Stay tuned for more twists and turns in this electrifying tournament!
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
