Chinese teenager Liu Shiwen upset fellow national and 2005 silver medalist Guo Yan to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals at the table tennis World Championships yesterday.
The 18-year-old Liu, ranked 12th in the world, continued her run of flawless victories by taking the fourth-round match without dropping a game against her fourth-ranked opponent.
“It was a tough game, because my opponent was also a Chinese. This is my first appearance in the world championships and I think I was able to play with a fresh feeling,” Liu said.
PHOTO: EPA
Fellow Chinese Zhang Yining and Li Xiaoxia both joined Liu in the quarter-finals.
Beijing Olympic gold medalist and world No. 1 Zhang brushed aside Krisztina Toth of Hungary to move another step closer to regaining the singles title she won in 2005.
“It was not a difficult match, but I played seriously. I can play better. A tough, real competition will start from now on. I’m going to prepare for tomorrow’s match,” Zhang said.
After beating her teammate Ding Ning, world silver medalist Li said she had been pleased with her performance.
“I played some 70 rallies in this match. I just returned everything hit at me. I feel good. It was a good game,” Li said.
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