DURBAN, South Africa, May 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese paddlers notched up snug victories on the opening day of the 2023 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) Finals right here on Saturday.
World No. 5 Liang Jingkun, the primary Chinese participant popping out of the gate in Durban, withstood the problem from his New Zealand opponent Alfred Dela Pena within the first two video games, the place Liang received 11-8, 11-9.
Liang held a agency grip on management afterward, triumphing 11-2, 11-3 to safe a berth within the males’s singles final 64.
“Normally it’s not easy to play in the first match of major tournaments. I felt a bit nervous at the start and didn’t fit quite well into this arena, while gradually getting into the match starting from the third game,” mentioned Liang.
Playing in his eighth World Championships, China’s crew captain Ma Long additionally sailed into the second spherical with a straight-game victory over Argentine veteran Gaston Alto.
“It’s our first head-to-head, and I’m not quite familiar with the opponent today. He has showcased some characters in his serve and forehand,” commented Ma, present Olympic singles gold medalist.
Like their males’s counterparts, two Chinese feminine paddlers additionally asserted their authority on their method to the second spherical.
Reigning Olympic champion Chen Meng dispatched Egyptian Yousra Helmy 4-0 in lower than 20 minutes, whereas Chen Xingtong conquered Sarah De Nutte of Luxembourg in straight video games.
“I made full preparation for the difficulties, and the process of my first match here was within expectations,” defined Chen Meng, who confused that her goal was to play each upcoming match nicely with out wanting too far-off.
Playing in her first match on the Durban desk tennis worlds, Chen Xingtong admitted that she skilled a little bit of up-and-down in mindset.
“I’m still searching for better positioning towards the venue,” she mentioned.
It solely took Chinese youngsters Lin Shidong and Kuai Man quarter-hour to emerge victorious 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 of their blended doubles first-round match towards host pair Chetan Nathoo/Danisha Patel.
The Durban worlds marked the primary time in 84 years that the marquee occasion was held on African soil.
“Having the World Championships hosted here in Durban is not only a celebration of the sport but also a demonstration of our dedication to spreading the influence of table tennis across different continents and cultures,” mentioned ITTF president Petra Sorling when delivering a speech on Saturday night’s opening ceremony.
In the match’s opener performed between two African gamers on desk one, world No. 119 Ibrahima Diaw of Senegal whitewashed South African Dean Levy, who’s 450 locations under him on the earth rankings.
The first day of the match has sprung some surprises, with girls’s singles world No. 12 Sofia Polcanova of Austria falling to Dora Madarasz of Hungary in a seven-game thriller, and changing into the primary Top 10 seed being dumped out of the competitors.
German Dimitrij Ovtcharov, bronze medalist on the Tokyo Olympic Games, registered a nail-biting victory over Frenchman Can Akkuzu in full video games.
Prominent names like Swedish prodigy Truls Moregard, world’s highest-ranked African participant Quadri Aruna of Nigeria, Frenchwoman Yuan Jianan and South Korea’s Jeon Ji-hee additionally made it to the second spherical.
Remaining first-round matches of the Durban worlds proceed on Sunday, with Chinese star paddlers Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Yidi able to battle for spots within the final 64.