The WTT China Smash tournament in Beijing was marked by a series of significant surprises in the initial stages. In the women's singles category, Thai athlete Orawan Paranang achieved an impressive victory over two-time defending champion Sun Yinsha, defeating her 3:1 in the second round on Wednesday in Beijing.
In the first game, Sun and Paranang exchanged points, and the Chinese number one took the lead in the final moments, winning 11:8. However, Paranang responded strongly in the second game, gaining a 4:0 advantage and continuing to pressure to close out the match with a score of 11:4.
In the third set, the Thai athlete took the lead 9:8, and then won it 12:10 after a tense battle. Following this, she converted match point to take the fourth set 12:10, securing this sensational victory. The Thai qualifier, ranked 101st in the world, advanced to the round of 16, eliminating the second seed Sun, who had previously returned to the top rankings at the beginning of this month.
Paranang's next opponent will be Japan's 14th seed, Honoka Hashimoto. In another important women's singles match, fourth-ranked Kuai Man defeated Zhong Gemana 3:1. In the round of 16, she will face another compatriot, Zhu Sibing.
In the men's singles category, Zhou Qihao faced Xiang Peng in a matchup between Chinese players in the second round. After losing two sets, Zhou managed to recover his position, forcing a deciding fifth set. After saving two match points, he snatched the fifth set 13:11, completing the comeback 3:2, and will meet Tomokazu Harimoto from Japan in the round of 16.
In the women's doubles category, the pair Kuai Man and Wang Manyu defeated Yazzy Liu from Australia and Yuan Wang from Germany 3:0, advancing to the quarterfinals. The Chinese seeded pair started confidently, and Kuai's forehand win earned her a game point, allowing them to win the first set 11:5.
The second set proved much more intense: Kuai and Wang saved a game point before turning the tide and winning 12:10 thanks to another strong forehand from Kuai, doubling their overall advantage to 2:0. A similar pattern was observed in the third set, when Kuai and Wang again saved a game point before holding on to the victory 14:12. The Chinese duo will face compatriots Gao Yusin and Xiang Junlin in the round of eight.