Olympic champs Sun, Wang make winning starts at WTT Champions in Macao

Sun Yingsha hits a return during her first round victory over Jeon Ji-hee at the WTT Champions Macao, on Sept. 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

MACAO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic gold medalists Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu triumphed in Monday's opening action at the 2024 World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Macao, at the Macao East Asian Games Dome.

World No. 1 Sun beat South Korea's Jeon Ji-hee 3-0 (14-12, 12-10, 11-1), while Wang registered a 3-1 (11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 11-9) victory over Bernadette Szocs of Romania.

The WTT Champions Macao is the first competition that Sun and Wang are playing following their women's team victory along with Chen Meng at the Paris Olympic Games.

Former China national team member Zhu Yuling, currently representing Macao, had a winning return to the court, defeating Poland's Natalia Bajor 3-0 in her first international appearance in four years. Zhu will play Wang in the next round.

On the men's side, Sweden's Truls Moregard, men's singles runner-up at the Paris Olympics, came from behind to defeat Japan's Shunsuke Togami 3-1 to advance to the last 16.

China's Liang Jingkun, ranked fourth in the world, swept past Edward Ly of Canada 3-0, while his seventh-ranked teammate Lin Gaoyuan also defeated Omar Assar of Egypt in straight games.

The WTT Champions Macao runs until Sunday. ■

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