Defending champions reach knockout stage with three straight wins at Asian Cup

HAIKOU, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Defending champions Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu of China both reached the knockout stage after claiming their third consecutive wins in the men's singles and women's singles group match, respectively, at the Asian Cup here on Friday.

The table tennis tournament running from Wednesday to Sunday consists of men's singles and women's singles events. The group stage adopts a round-robin format with 32 players divided into eight groups in each event, and the top two players in each group will advance to the knockout stage.

In the last round of group stage, world No.1 Wang Chuqin defeated Mohammed Abdulwahhab of Qatar 11-5, 12-10, 11-7.

"Actually, I didn't perform as well as yesterday. I need to be more focused to have an even better feel for the match. I will try my best to make improvement in the knockout stage," said Wang Chuqin.

In the women's singles, Wang Manyu eased past Qatar's Aia Mohamed 11-2, 11-3, 11-2.

"I kept the momentum in the group stage. The rest of matches in the tournament will be more difficult, and I will get ready with more preparations," Wang Manyu said after the match.

Other paddlers of Team China including Lin Shidong, Xiang Peng, Zhou Qihao, Sun Yingsha, Chen Xingtong, Kuai Man, Wang Yidi and Chen Yi advanced to the knockout stage, while China's Chen Junsong and Chen Yuanyu were eliminated.

On Saturday, the last 16 competition will kick off early, followed by the quarterfinals of men's singles and women's singles in the evening. ■