China's Wang powers into WTT United States Smash last 16, Sun survives scare again

Wang Chuqin in action during the men's singles second round match against Kao Cheng-jui at the World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash in Las Vegas on July 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of WTT)

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Reigning world champion Wang Chuqin advanced to the men's singles last 16 with a 3-1 win over Kao Cheng-jui of Chinese Taipei, while women's world No. 1 Sun Yingsha endured another full-game battle at the World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash on Tuesday.

As Team China's only remaining player in the bottom half, Wang started strong with an 11-2 opening game. Kao leveled with an 11-9 win, but Wang responded confidently, taking the next two games 11-6, 11-3 to close out the match.

"We met many times before, so I was fully prepared for this match, especially considering the uncertainties brought by the venue and table," said Wang. "When leading in the second game, I was a bit conservative, but after negotiations with my coach, I felt that I needed to stick to my own style of play."

French qualifier Lilian Bardet, who upset China's Liang Jingkun in the previous round, continued his surprise run with a 3-1 victory over Germany's Ricardo Walther.

"I'm very happy and very proud of myself for this run. It's not over yet and I hope to go as far as possible," said Bardet.

"Now I just want to carry this confidence and continue to play relaxed and let's see how it goes," he added.

Sixth seed Felix Lebrun won 3-1 in an all-French clash with Simon Gauzy. German seeds Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang also progressed to the third round.

Sun Yingsha in action during the women's singles second round match against Hana Goda at the WTT United States Smash on July 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of WTT)

Sun Yingsha, who was pushed to five games by Australia's Liu Yangzi in the opening round, faced another test against 17-year-old Hana Goda. The Egyptian teenager led two-one before Sun rallied with back-to-back 11-7 wins to complete the comeback.

"Hana is quite young. She posed a huge challenge to me today with determination to win. Facing adversities, I just tried to improve my game with staunch belief," commented Sun.

Sun was joined in the women's last 16 by teammates Chen Xingtong, Kuai Man and Chen Yi, as well as Japan's Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata.

Kuai also advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Lin Shidong after the top seeds swept Austria's Robert Gardos and Sofia Polcanova in straight games. ■

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