Olympic champ Ma, world No. 1 Sun win Chinese trial for table tennis worlds

BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic and world champion Ma Long and current women's singles world No. 1 Sun Yingsha won the national team's first trial on Thursday to secure their spots in the squad for the upcoming World Table Tennis Championships.

Ma, a 34-year-old veteran who made history by taking two straight Olympic gold medals in the men's singles at Tokyo 2020, made surprising short work of top-ranked Fan Zhendong 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 for the title, while Sun, 22, beat Chen Xingtong 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 in the women's draw.

Chen, who paired up with Lin Gaoyuan to win the mixed doubles after beating Yu Ziyang and Sun Mingyang 3-1 in Tuesday's final, will have to make further efforts in the following days to vie for a place in China's squad for the May 20-28 World Championships in Durban, South Africa.

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Chen Meng, with an injured foot, and defending world champion Wang Manyu, who had a fever, both withdrew from the trials before the women's singles semifinals.

"All the youngsters have played high-quality table tennis during this trial, and I have to admit that I've no edge over them. But also, I have no pressure against them, which leads to my free-spirited form," said Ma, who was crowned world champion in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

His final opponent Fan, the 2021 world title holder, said he was not satisfied with his own performance. "I performed better as the trial went on, but it's still far from my best form."

A total of five berths are on offer as the all-time leading Chinese team has scheduled to stage two selection events for the worlds, and guaranteed tickets for the singles winners from any of the two trials and the better pair between the two mixed doubles winning duos.

During the WTTC Asia Continental Stage in Doha last month, China ensured its full quota at the Durban worlds, meaning five spots each in the men's and women's singles, and two berths apiece in the men's, women's and mixed doubles events.

Winning a singles title at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash scheduled for March 7-19 will be another pathway for Chinese paddlers to earn a berth at the World Championships.

The team's remaining spots will be decided by the coaching group.