Table tennis: Feng Tianwei shocks world No. 1 Ding Ning in Chinese Table Tennis Super League

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SINGAPORE - Singapore table tennis star Feng Tianwei created shockwaves in the Chinese Table Tennis Super League on Sunday (Dec 4).

The 30-year-old, representing the club Ordos 1980, shocked Olympic champion and world No.1 Ding Ning 12-10, 13-15, 2-11, 11-7, 7-5 yesterday. Ding was representing her club Beijing Shougang in the competition.

Feng, the world No. 6, also comfortably beat another Chinese player, Li Jiayuan, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8.

The Chinese Super League is reportedly the world's biggest table tennis league competition. It boasts world-class players such as Chinese world and Olympic champions like Ma Lin, Wang Liqin, Zhang Jike, Zhang Yining and Li Xiaoxia, as well as Ding and Feng.

Feng's performance is a boost for the player following her shock axing from the Singapore national set-up in October. Then, Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) said then that she did not fit into its rejuvenation plans. It cited its emphasis on "youth development" in its push for Tokyo 2020 as one of the reasons to refresh the team.

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The women's team returned from the Rio Olympics empty-handed, the first time in three Games they failed to deliver silverware.

However, the STTA also said it would continue to support her competing on the professional International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour circuit and consider her for international competitions like the Olympics and Asian Games if she meets the selection criteria.

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