Sun Yingsha was unexpectedly eliminated early - Photo: CGTN
Two days ago, the 2025 US Smash Table Tennis Tournament witnessed its first major upset when three Chinese men's singles players were eliminated in the first round.
Those were Liang Jingkun (seed #4), Lin Gaoyuan (seed #15), and Chen Yuanyu (seed #16), respectively. This defeat immediately made US Smash incredibly exciting.
As one of the four top tournaments in the WTT (World Table Tennis) system, the US Smash – along with the other three in China, Europe, and Singapore – is often compared to the Grand Slam system in tennis.
The US Smash takes place in Los Angeles, the world's most entertainment-rich city. And at this year's tournament, table tennis fans have been flocking to the United States as a series of sensational events unfold.
The surprise came in the round of 16 of the women's singles, when top seed Sun Yingsha lost to compatriot Chen Yi with a score of 1-3 (9-11, 11-7, 5-11, 9-11).
It's worth noting that Chen Yi is only 20 years old and not seeded at all. Ranked 17th in the world, she is considered far inferior to her senior, Sun Yingsha.
Sun, now 24 years old, has held the world number one ranking for many years. She boasts 3 Olympic gold medals, 9 World Championships gold medals, as well as 9 titles in the WTT series and the World Cup.
Nevertheless, mainland fans can take some comfort in the fact that the player who defeated Sun was also Chinese.
Wang Manyu also suffered a shocking defeat - Photo: CGTN
But in the other half of the draw, the second seed Wang Manyu also suffered a shocking defeat to the 14th seed from Macau, Zhu Yuling. The match ended 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5), with the Chinese girl losing.
In just one day, both of China's strongest female table tennis players suffered stunning defeats. As a result, China lost its dominance in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
In the quarterfinals, China still has 3 representatives, the same as Japan. But Chen Yi will face a tough challenge against Hayata, who is seeded number 9. And at least one Chinese player will be eliminated when Chen Yingtong (seeded number 3) clashes with Kuai Man (number 5).
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/2-tay-vot-manh-nhat-bong-ban-trung-quoc-thua-soc-20250711124412628.htm
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