Key Points
Sun Yingsha overcomes tough 3-1 victory against Japan's Satsuki Odo
Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong advance to semifinals
Lin Shidong wins dramatic five-game men's singles battle
1 Sun Yingsha was made to sweat in her gruelling 3-1 victory over Japan's eighth-ranked Satsuki Odo. The 20-year-old Odo, last year's winner in Montpellier on her WTT Champions debut, silenced the home crowd by triumphing 11-6 in the opening game. The next two games saw game points change hands several times, while Sun displayed her resilience by taking both games with the same scoreline of 14-12. Then, she took command in the fourth game, winning 11-7 to seal the deal, reports Xinhua.
"It was our encounter [in WTT events]. My preparations and analysis of the opponent gave me some understanding of her game, but it would be different when I actually played against her," commented Sun. "I lost the first game, and she once took the game point in the second. If I had lost that game again, I would have been down 0-2. This win will serve as a confidence booster for my semifinal tomorrow, and I will enjoy the match first and put on an excellent match for everyone," she added.
Sun's semifinal opponent will be third seed Wang Yidi, who dispatched Japan's Hina Hayata 11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 12-10.
The other semifinal pits world No. 2 Wang Manyu against fourth-ranked Chen Xingtong. Wang swept past Miwa Harimoto of Japan in straight games, while Chen also eliminated her compatriot Kuai Man 3-0.
In the men's singles, top seed Lin Shidong of China had to endure a five-game battle before knocking out Lin Yun-ju of Chinese Taipei 6-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-3, 11-7. "We have clashed several times recently, and we are quite familiar with each other. Facing his tactical changes this time, I managed to go through," Lin Shidong remarked.
Lin's next opponent will be his teammate Liang Jingkun, who emerged victorious in another full-game duel against Frenchman Felix Lebrun 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 3-11, 11-5. China's second-seeded Wang Chuqin outplayed Truls Moregard of Sweden 3-0 and will contend for a final spot with Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto.
The WTT Champions Chongqing will conclude on Sunday.
