Beijing, Oct 9 (IANS) Top seed Wang Manyu of China advanced to the women’s singles semifinals at the 2026 WTT China Smash on Friday, sweeping South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin 4-0. Wang extended her winning streak against Shin to eight matches, triumphing 11-8, 11-7, 11-3, 11-9 in half an hour.
“We just met [at the Asian Games], and we are familiar with each other’s technical and tactical approaches. I was well-prepared for any difficulties ahead of this match,” Wang said.
Wang’s compatriot Chen Xingtong rallied from two games down to eliminate Japanese chopper Honoka Hashimoto 5-11, 8-11, 11-2, 12-10, 11-3, 11-6, securing her first win in their third encounter, reports Xinhua.
“I was not quite used to her spin in the first two games, but I adapted better afterwards, stayed in contention and tried to attack whenever I had the opportunity,” Chen said.
China’s Wang Yidi squandered a two-game lead in a 4-2 defeat to Japan’s Miwa Harimoto, while compatriot Zhu Sibing lost 4-1 to Japan’s Hitomi Sato in a matchup between two defensive players.
In the men’s singles, China’s Zhou Qihao beat South Korea’s Jang Woo-jin 4-2 to set up a semifinal clash with world No. 1 Sora Matsushima, who beat Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-hsin 4-1.
Looking ahead to the semifinal, Zhou said, “I lost to Sora twice recently. Facing him again, I will spare no effort for a win.”
The women’s doubles final will feature the tournament’s top two seeds. Japan’s top-seeded pair Harimoto and Hina Hayata beat Chinese wild cards Wang Yidi and Jiang Yiyi 3-1, while China’s Wang Manyu and Kuai Man got past compatriots Chen Yi and Li Yihui with the same score. “They were playing together as a pair for the first time, but they produced some excellent shots with great quality and speed, putting us under a lot of pressure. We held firm on clutch points,” Kuai said.
In their most recent encounter at the 2026 Asian Games, Wang and Kuai defeated Harimoto and Hayata 4-0 to claim the title. “We just met them. The two pairs are familiar with each other, so we need to make full preparations and go all out against them,” Kuai added.
Also on Friday, South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and Shin were crowned in mixed doubles after beating Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching 3-2.
In the men’s doubles semifinals, China’s Wen Ruibo and Yuan Licen lost 3-1 to French brothers Alexis and Felix Lebrun. The top seeds will take on South Korea’s Lim and Oh Jun-sung, who dispatched India’s Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah in straight games.
–IANS
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