Zeng Jian and Ser Lin Qian knock out African champs as seeds fall on Day 2 of Singapore Smash

SINGAPORE – As several seeded players fell by the wayside on Day 2 of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash, Zeng Jian and Ser Lin Qian continued the hosts’ run of beating higher-ranked opponents.

In front of 2,530 spectators at The Kallang’s OCBC Arena on Feb 23, the world No. 120 Singaporean duo claimed the scalp of Egypt’s 17th-ranked Dina Meshref and Hana Goda, coming from behind to beat the African champions 3-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8) in the women’s doubles last 32.

The wild cards will face the second-seeded pair of Japan’s Satsuki Odo and South Korea’s Joo Cheon-hui in the round of 16 on Feb 24.

Ser, who had beaten Canada’s world No. 58 Zhang Mo, an opponent ranked 68 rungs above her in the women’s singles last 64 the previous day, is now through to the second round of both events.

The 19-year-old said it is “definitely a surprise to be in this position”, as she is just here to learn.

She said: “Zeng Jian is my senior and when I’m playing with her, I feel no pressure at all.

“Whether I make mistakes or win points, she always tells me, ‘It’s okay, think about the next point’.

“And I feel that’s really important on court, because having the right mindset will help us perform better.”

Zeng, who had partnered Meshref to a ranking of 99, said via a translator: “We face them quite regularly in tournaments and today’s win is down to some luck and their playing style.

“I would attribute this win to our tactics and chemistry.”

In another upset by Singaporeans on Day 1, world No. 104 men’s doubles duo Clarence Chew and Josh Chua had come from behind to beat the 17th-ranked Slovakian pair Lubomir Pistej and Jakub Zelinka 3-2 in the round of 32.

Chua, who is ranked 240th in the men’s singles, lost 3-0 (11-5, 12-10, 11-6) to the 44th-ranked Jonathan Groth of Denmark on Day 2.

Other Singaporeans also could progress no farther in their respective events at the US$1.55 million (S$1.97 million) tournament.

Men’s singles world No. 178 Koen Pang was the closest in pulling off an upset, taking Germany’s 23rd-ranked Patrick Franziska to a fifth game before losing 3-2 (11-5, 10-12, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8) in the last 64.

On taking the lead, the Singaporean said: “It was a tough match to begin with anyway and I didn’t expect myself to get there.

“I couldn’t really find my rhythm for the first set and a half, but after that, I started to find my rhythm, and then just made fewer mistakes – after that I became more aggressive… I had my chances in the fourth and didn’t close it out, that’s when it started to get tougher.”

World No. 30 and SEA Games gold medallists Pang and Zeng then fell 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-5) to India’s seventh-ranked Manush Shah and Diya Chitale in their mixed doubles last-16 match.

Said Pang: “They definitely prepared very well and played into our tough spots. It felt very suffocating and they managed to control the game very well, so we didn’t have much chance to get back into the game. It was pretty one-sided.

“Both of us have a lot to improve on if we want to continue on as a mixed doubles pair and we will see how things go.”

Pang will be in action in the men’s doubles last 16 with Izaac Quek on Feb 24, when the world No. 4 pair will face Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes and Santiago Lorenzo, while Chew and Chua will take on sixth-ranked duo Lin Shidong and Huang Youzheng of China.

In other matches involving Singaporeans, women’s singles world No. 157 Tan Zhao Yun fell 3-1 (11-3, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9) to Spain’s world No. 73 Maria Xiao, while teammate and world No. 223 Loy Ming Ying was defeated 3-1 (11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7) by Romania’s 43rd-ranked Elizabeta Samara.

Elsewhere, there were upsets in the mixed doubles last 16 as German wild cards Qiu Dang and Sabine Winter beat Japan’s eight-ranked Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto 3-2 (11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-3).

Chinese Taipei’s world No. 15 duo Cheng I-ching and Lin Yun-ju fell 3-1 (11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9) to Hong Kong-South Korea pair Baldwin Chan and Kim Na-yeong.

Women’s top-ranked singles player Sun Yingsha of China survived a scare against qualifier and Thailand’s SEA Games silver medallist Orawan Paranang (84th) to win 3-1 (11-2, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6).

Sun, the defending champion, said: “I feel that in terms of form, I’m actually in pretty good shape. I just finished the Asian Cup not long ago, so in terms of adjusting and recovering, I think I’ve gotten back to my best state.

“Orawan is a player who had come all the way through qualifying into the main draw... we played once at the Hangzhou Asian Games (in 2023), but I feel that her performance today was much better than in previous years.”