Houston, Nov 27 (Asia Free Press): Two China-US pairs had different fates at the round of 16 in the mixed-doubles at the World Table Tennis Championships held here at Houston on Friday, the Chinese media said.
The Chinese-US pair of Lin Gaoyuan and Lily Zhang dispatched their Russian opponents, Kirill Skachkov and Olga Vorobeva, by 3-1, winning their tickets to the quarterfinals, while another China-US pair, comprised of Kanak Jha and Wang Manyu, were stopped by the Indian duo 3-2.
“We are getting better and better with every match. Also, the momentum cannot be maintained without tremendous support from all the fans, friends, and our coaches,” Xinhua News Agency quoted Lin as saying.
“We have really good chemistry because we’re always helping each other, constantly supporting each other,” added Zhang.
Jha and Wang won the first two matches against Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra, but only by leaving the door open to their Indian opponents for a great comeback.
“The opponents implemented a unique style, which was a challenge for us as newly-paired. But overall, I think Kanak performed much better than I had anticipated, “Wang said.
“For me, personally, I can learn from all three games we play together. It was great to play with Wang Manyu and learn a lot from her and also the coach, “said Jha.
The two joint pairs, who carry on the spirit of Ping-Pong Diplomacy initiated between the two nations half a century ago, were confirmed to enter the draw by the sport’s world governing body, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Sunday and had just trained together once on the eve of the Worlds’ opening.
