China’s men’s singles campaign at the World Table Tennis US Smash came to an abrupt end after defending champion Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong were eliminated in the round of 16. Both players faced tough challenges and fell short against European opponents at the tournament held at the Ontario Convention Centre in Los Angeles.
Wang Chuqin, who won the title last year, was defeated by Denmark’s Anders Lind in four games, with scores of 13-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-7. Although the match was closely contested, Wang was unable to capitalize on critical points early on, losing the first game narrowly before being dominated in the second. He managed to rebound in the third game but ultimately conceded the match in the fourth. Lind, who had previously beaten Wang at the 2024 WTT China Grand Smash, described the encounter as a test of resilience. “Even when I was leading, I got a little bit nervous... but I kept pushing myself to take the right decisions,” Lind said.
Shortly after his singles loss, Wang had paired with compatriot Sun Yingsha to defeat Brazilian duo Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi 3-0 to reach the mixed doubles final, showing that he remained competitive in doubles play.
Lin Shidong, the last remaining Chinese man in the singles draw, was similarly unable to advance, falling 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 to France’s Alexis Lebrun. Lin struggled to find momentum during the match and missed pivotal points, particularly in the tightly contested first two games, before ultimately succumbing in straight games.
This round of exits marks a disappointing outcome for China’s traditionally dominant men’s singles squad, which saw earlier departures from younger players in the tournament. As a result, no Chinese men progressed to the quarter-finals in this discipline.
Despite setbacks in the men’s singles, other Chinese players maintained a strong presence in the competition. Eight women entered the singles event, with Kuu Man already secured in the quarter-finals. Additional players, including Sun Yingsha, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi, and Qin Yuxuan, were set to compete for quarter-final spots in the round of 16.
The doubles events offered more promising prospects for China. In women’s doubles, world champions Wang Manyu and Kuai advanced to the final, where they will face Japan’s Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata. The mixed doubles final is set to feature Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha against South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, a rematch of last year’s WTT Finals title match in Hong Kong.
Additionally, two Chinese men’s doubles pairs—Lin and Huang Youzheng, and Wen Ruibo and Yuan Licen—reached the semi-finals, preserving the possibility of an all-Chinese final in that category.
The tournament was scheduled to continue with remaining singles round-of-16 matches, men’s doubles semi-finals, and the mixed doubles final, as China sought to rebound in the concluding stages.