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CHENGDU, China, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Ma Long and Ding Ning, the singles gold medallists of the Rio Olympic Games, eased into men's last 16 and women's last 8 respectively at the ITTF World Tour China Open here on Friday.
Chinese women paddlers Chen Xingtong and Wang Manyu had to say goodbye, after losing seven-game thrillers in the first round to Shan Xiaona of Germany and Marina Matsuzawa of Japan respectively.
Ma beat Leong Chee Feng of Malaysia 11-9, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 in the men's singles first round.
"It's the first encounter between us. At the beginning, I felt a little unfamiliar with his style of play, and I needed to concentrate on each point," said Ma, who was the fifth men's Grand Slam winner after sweeping teammate Zhang Jike in Rio Olympics final.
Tying at 2 after four games, Zhang got back his momentum to take the next two games, wrapping up his matchup against Tao Wenzhang of the United States 4-2.
Other four Chinese guys also made into the next round with comfortable victories. World No.3 Xu Xin eliminated Choong Javen of Malaysia 11-3, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7. Penholder Xu pleased the home crowds at Sichuan Gymnasium with many spectacular balls.
"I wanted to have some shows for the crowds, but it did not go in my way. Hoping that I can show more in the following matches," commented Xu.
The 19-year-old Fan Zhendong upset Yeh Chih-Wei of Chinese Taipei 4-1. After overcoming their respective opponents, Fang Bo and Zhou Yu booked an all-Chinese second round matchup.
Current Olympic and world champion Ding Ning beat Li Yu-Jhun of Chinese Taipei in the first round, then went on to claim a 14-12, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9 victory over Sakura Mori of Japan.
World No. 1 Liu Shiwen experienced a much tougher second round against Japanese Marina Matsuzawa. After the match was dragged into the decisive game, Liu won at 11-6 to secure a last 8 spot.
"I didn't play against her before. The opening two games were easy for me, but I felt a little distracted in the following games," said Liu.
Liu will face the tournament's under-21 women singles champion Zeng Jian of Singapore in the quarterfinals.
"It's important for me to get back my momentum through some matches. It's not bad to play tough matches, which helps to improve my mentality in the future," said Liu.
Zhu Yuling and Chen Meng also made into the women's singles quarterfinals, after going past Zhou Yihan of Singapore and Yuka Ishigaki of Japan respectively.
Four Chinese pairs, including hosts favorite Ma Long and Zhang Jike, all advanced into semifinals of the tournament with their respective wins.
Ma and Zhang, both men's Grand Slam winners, pleased the home crowds as they beat Kim Donghyun and Kim Minseok of South Korea 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 11-6. They will face Japanese duo Koki Niwa and Yuya Oshima. Antoher Chinese men's duo Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin will fight for the other final spot with Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong, China.
In women's doubles quarterfinals, Olympians Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen eased past Hsiung Nai-I and Huang Yi-Hua of Chinese Taipei 11-7, 11-3 and 11-9 in just 20 minutes. Their opponents in the semifinals will be Cheng Hsien-Tzu and Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei.
The other semifinal will feature Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling, and Lee Yearam and Kim Haeun of South Korea.
