Sun sets up All-China Final

Sun Yingsha engineered a commanding performance as she took down Mima Ito of Japan 4-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4) in their semi-final clash. The number two seed Chinese has won six of the last eight meetings against Ito, who is seeded one spot below Sun. 20-year-old Sun, who is just 14 days younger than Ito, took control of the match early by winning the first game 11-3. She stormed to a 5-0 lead in the second game before Ito fought back to 9-9. However, the Chinese was too fast and decisive in her strokes and snatched the next two points to go 2-0 up. Sun would go on to make it an All-China with Chen as she outplayed Ito 11-6, 11-4 in the third and fourth game.  “The turning point came in the second game as it could go either way. I fought for every point and did not give up as I wanted to extend my advantage after winning the first game. Mima has already won the Mixed Doubles gold medal, and she’s a very good player. I knew it was not going to be an easy match and just told myself to play my own game and be focused,” said Sun

Chen books place in Women’s Singles final

China’s Chen Meng ended Yu Mengyu’s hopes of making it into the Women’s Singles final when she beat the Singaporean 4-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6) in today’s opening table tennis match.

Chen enjoyed a 2-0 advantage over Yu in their head-to-head record and last played each other at the 2019 Hungarian Open. She extended that winning record over Yu with her quick and aggressive style play, which proved too strong for the Singaporean

Chen, who is making her Olympics debut, started aggressively by taking the first game 11-6 in nine minutes. The Chinese came out strongly again in the second game by racing to a 6-0 lead before Yu staged a comeback, winning eights points to take the game to 8-10. Chen then called for a time-out which proved crucial as she took the second game, 11-8. Despite taking an early lead in the third game, Chen showed her dominance again, winning the game in seven minutes. Yu then suffered what appeared to be a leg injury when she was 2-4 down in the crucial fourth game. After receiving medical attention, Yu continued her battle, winning three consecutive points to tie the game at 5-5. But the world number one once again outplayed the Singaporean by clinching the decider 11-6 to book her place in the Women’s Singles final.

“I’m very pleased with how I played today. I was focused and fought for every point. I’m looking forward to the final tonight and hopefully, I can play well again,” said Chen.