Chinese star player Wang Manyu latest casualty at World Table Tennis US Smash event

Shocking results are starting to pile up for China’s women at the World Table Tennis (WTT) US Smash, with star player Wang Manyu the latest to taste defeat in the second knockout round on Tuesday.

Tournament second seed Wang lost 12-10, 11-4, 15-13 to Japanese wild card player Hitomi Sato in Los Angeles, adding to the defeat of 21-year-old sixth seed Chen Yi.

Chen dropped a two-game lead to lose to German veteran Han Ying, who is 22 years older, in the first round on Monday.

The results mean that two of China’s top five women’s seeds have been eliminated in California.

Qin Yuxuan, Shi Xunyao, top seed Sun Yingsha, fifth seed Chen Xintong and eighth seed Wang Yidi are all in action on Wednesday local time, while Kuai Man was the first Chinese player to reach the round of 16 following her 3-1 win over Mo Zhang of Canada.

Heading into the match against Sato, Wang had enjoyed a career 6-0 head-to-head record from 2014 to 2020, but the 28-year-old from Japan emerged victorious on Tuesday, and some fans began to make justifications for the loss.

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