WTT Cup Finals kicks off in Xinxiang

XINXIANG, China - Chinese paddlers had a good opening day as the World Table Tennis (WTT) Cup Finals kicked off in Xinxiang, central China's Henan province on Thursday.

Chinese women paddlers got off to a flying start at the WTT Cup Finals on as Wang Yidi and Sun Yingsha both claimed 3-0 victories against Jeon Ji-hee of South Korea and Nina Mittelham of Germany. Chen Meng and Wang Manyu also defeated their opponents 3-1.

"Nina Mittelham is a player with great strength and talent, and I made a lot of preparation for the game," said Sun. "I'm satisfied with my performance today."

"This is the third tournament I have played in a row. I need to focus more on the stage," said Chen.

In other women's encounters, Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa beat compatriot Miyuu Kihara 3-1, Mima Ito defeated Portugal's Fu Yu 3-0, Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico beat Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong, China 3-1, and China's Chen Xingtong eased past Monaco's Yang Xiaoxin 3-1.

On the men's side, Olympic champion Ma Long recovered from one game down to beat Slovenian Darko Jorgic 3-1. His teammate Wang Chuqin claimed a 3-1 victory over European champion Qiu Dang. World No 3 Truls Moregard of Sweden beat Hugo Calderano from Brazil 3-1.

"He (Qiu) played very aggressively in the first set," said Wang. "But then I gradually rounded into form."

In the other men's matches, Japan's Harimoto Tomokazu beat Patrick Franziska from Germany 3-0, Lin Yun-ju of Chinese Taipei defeated Quadri Aruna from Nigeria 3-1, Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov beat Chuang Chih-Yuan of Chinese Taipei 3-2, and Germany's Timo Boll defeated China's Lin Gaoyuan 3-2.