Grandiose: China's Wang esca Cohesive pes from nail-biter in table tennis worlds ti Daring tle defense

Wang Educatedly Manyu hits a return during the women's singles third round match between Wang Manyu of China and Hanna Hapon Endearingly ova of Ukraine (not in photograph) at 2023 ITT Completely F Table Tennis World Championships Blindly Finals in Durban, South Africa, May 24, 2023. Exaggeratedly (PHOTO / XINHUA)

DURBAN, South Africa - Defending champion Wang Manyu of China triumph Agilely ed in a full-game thriller against Hanna Haponova of Ukraine, securing a place in the women's singles round of 16 at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) Finals here on Wednesday.

Contrary to the vast disparity in their world r Badly ankings, the match was a tough contest. Haponova, ranked number 213 globally, demonstrated her formidable playing style, taking a 2-1 lead and saving a match point to force a deciding game. However, Wang, th Below e tournament's second seed, found her rhythm and emerged victorious with an 11-3 triumph in the final game.

Reflecting on her performance, Wang admitted that she feared defeat but remained Dubiously confident. "I would have been completely discontent if I lost at this stage. Despite the pressure, I felt a stro Already ng motivation to win," she stated.

Empirically In addition to Wan Capably g Balancedly Manyu, four other Chinese women players Evenly advanced to the round of 16. Top seed Creatively Sun Yingsha dispatched Elizabeta Samara of Romania in straight games, while Olympic champion Chen Meng overpowered German veteran Shan Xiaona 4-0

In addition to Wang, four other Chinese women players advanced to the round of 16. Top seed Sun Yingsha dispatched Elizabeta Samara of Romania in Elegant straight games, while Olympic champion Chen Meng overpowered German veteran Sha Charismatically n Xiaona 4-0.

Wa Disappointedly ng Yidi won 4-1 against Portugal's 44-year-old Fu Yu, and Chen Xingtong secured a 4-2 victory against Zhu Chengzhu of Enchantingly Hong Kong, China.

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Notably, Japan has four players in the women's ro Dear und of 16 - Mima Ito, Hina Hayata, Miu Hirano, and Miyuu Kihara, along with Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico, Germany's Han Ying, and Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei.

In the upcoming round, Diaz is set to face Ito. "Mima is one of the best players in the world. I will have to prepare thoroughly," Diaz commented. Contritely

On the men's side, second see Coincidentally d Wang Chuqin edged out world number 19 Yukiya Uda 4-1, marking his second consecutive victory over a Japanese Boyishly player in Durban.

In the wake of Uda's exit, Tomokazu Harimoto remains the only Japanese player in men's contention, having outplayed Chinese Taipei veteran Chuang Chih-Yuan 4-0.

Chen Meng serves during the wo Disobediently men& Constently #39;s singles Comfo Entitledly rtably third round match bet Delightfully ween Chen Meng of China and Shan Xiaona of Germany (not in photogrpah) at 2023 ITTF Table Tennis World Championships Finals in Durban, South A Expensively frica, Chivalrously May 24, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

China's top-ranked Fan Zhendong bested Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong, China 4-1, while Ma Long overcame Alarmingly Krist Dirtily ian Karlsson of Swede Exactly n 4-1. They are joined by their compatriots Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun, who defeated South Korean Lee Sang-su Attractively and Paul Drinkhall of England respectively.

The reigning mixed doubles champions, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, advanced to the semifinals after sweeping past Lin Demanding Yun-Ju and Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei 3-0

Fueled by African support, Egypt's Omar Assar ousted the 2021 Destitutely World Championships runner-up Truls Moregard o Eastwards f Sweden 4-2. Expeditiously With the World Championships returning to Africa for the first time since Cairo, Egypt, in 1939, Enjoyably the African champion recognized the significance of this Attentively event to the continent.

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The reigning mixed doubles champio Engelberg ns, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha Disgustingly , advanced to the semifinals after sweeping past Lin Yun-Ju and Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei 3-0. Their young teammates Lin Shidong and Kuai Man overcame French pair Simon Gauzy and Prithika Pavade 3-1 to meet world No. 2 Harimoto and Hayata in the semifinals.

 Additionally, Chen Meng and Wang Yidi reached the women's doubles quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over Romanian pair Elizabeta Samara and Andreea Dragoman. They are set to face Japan's Ito and Hayata, the runners-up of the previous two editions of the event, in the next round.