China's Sun, Wang reach women's singles last 16 at WTT Singapore Smash

SINGAPORE, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu of China booked their berths in the women's singles last 16 while reigning Olympic champion Ma Long eased past compatriot Lin Shidong in the men's singles at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash here on Tuesday.

Top seed Sun met little challenge en route to a 3-0 victory over Sabine Winter of Germany, while Wang got past Miyuu Kihara of Japan in straight sets.

"The rhythm of the game was in my control, but I encountered some problems in the third set. Sabine has made big progress over the past year," commented Sun, who had beaten Winter in straight sets in Singapore one year ago.

Chinese paddlers Chen Xingtong, Zhang Rui and Qian Tianyi have already advanced to the women's singles round of 16.

Despite forcing a decider, world No. 6 Hina Hayata of Japan fell to Thailand's Suthasini Sawettabut in full sets.

Ma dispatched 17-year-old Lin, currently ranked 19th in the world, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 in the men's singles second round.

"He has been in good form recently, bagging one title and finishing runner-up in the past two competitions, so I made good preparation for this match," said 34-year-old Ma.

Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun reached the men's singles last 16 on Monday. Lin will contend for a spot in the last eight with Liang.

Top seed Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha bounced back from an 11-7 loss in the first set by winning the following three sets 14-12, 11-7, 11-7 to eliminate Lim Jong-hoon/Shin Yu-bin of South Korea in the mixed doubles quarterfinal.

Sun/Wang reached the semifinals with compatriots Fan Zhendong/Wang Manyu, who saw off Swedish duo Truls Moregard/Christina Kallberg 3-1.

In the women's doubles second round, Chen Meng/Wang Yidi recovered from their losses in the singles event to defeat Manika Batra/Archana Girish Kamath of India in full sets.