Wang Chuqin clinches thrilling win to reach WTT Macao quarterfinals

MACAO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Wang Chuqin of China overcame an early setback to eliminate Denmark's Jonathan Groth 3-1 on Thursday at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Macao 2025, securing himself a spot in the quarterfinals.

Wang lost the first game 11-7 and had fallen behind 6-1 in the following game, but he refused to give up and staged a comeback to turn around the match.

"My opponent has improved significantly, and I was on the back foot at the beginning," Wang said. "In the second game, I managed to find some rhythm, which laid the foundation for the rest of the match."

Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei also advanced with a 3-1 victory, eliminating France's Simon Gauzy to face Wang in the quarterfinals.

In the women's singles, Puerto Rico's Adriana Diaz edged out China's Wang Yidi 3-2 in a five-game thriller. Zhu Yuling of Macao, China, swept Brazil's Bruna Takahashi 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Earlier on Thursday, China's Xue Fei smashed Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto 3-0 in one of the round of 32 matches and will face South Korea's Jang Woo-jin on Friday. China's Chen Yi beat South Korea's Kim Na-yeong 3-1. ■