World No. 4 Chen spearheads players list for WTT Contender Taiyuan

BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Fourth-ranked Chen Xingtong of China led the initial entry list for the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender Taiyuan unveiled on Thursday.

Chen, last year's winner in Taiyuan, is joined in the women's singles lineup by her compatriots Qian Tianyi, Chen Yi and Shi Xunyao.

Miyu Nagasaki, Honoka Hashimoto and Sakura Yokoi headline the Japanese roster, while former world No. 1 Zhu Yuling, now representing Macao, China, continues her comeback efforts.

South Korea's An Jae-hyun, currently ranked 21st, is the highest-ranked men's singles entry confirmed so far for the event, with Sora Matsushima and Maharu Yoshimura of Japan, and China's Xue Fei and Zhou Qihao completing the top five entries in the men's singles draw. Prominent names including Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong, China, South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon and Kristian Karlsson of Sweden also make the list.

The WTT Contender Taiyuan will be held at Taiyuan Binhe Sports Center from April 8 to 13.