Confronting china

South Korean Lee Sang: Chinese veteran Ma Long and world No. 3 Wang Manyu claimed victory in the men's and women's singles round of 32, respectively, at the World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash here on Wednesday.

Confronting China's most decorated Olympian Ma, the 21-year-old Chinese Zeng Beixun took a 5-1 lead early, but Ma rallied past quickly to secure a win 11-8. After Ma pocketed the second set 11-6, Zeng came back to take the third with the same score. More aggressive returns helped Ma to win the fourth set 12-10 for a berth in the last 16.

"This is the first time for us to meet at major events. I scored the decisive points to seal the victory," the 35-year-old Ma noted. "Zeng made great progress recently. I am really delighted to see more talents growing to keep the overall strength of Chinese table tennis at a high level."