FRANKFURT: Olympic champion Ma Long beat longstanding rival Chuang Chih-Yuan from Chinese Taipei 3-1 on Tuesday at the 2023 WTT Champions Frankfurt in their 17th encounter.
Two-time table tennis Olympic champion Ma had led the head-to-head record 14-2 against Chuang, and extended the overwhelming advantage on Tuesday’s match 11-4, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11 to reach the round of 16.
Ma was given a yellow card for delaying during the third game before he grabbed the match point to seal the victory.
“It was six years ago when we played last time. As a 42-year-old veteran, Chuang has always been in good shape and hungry for the win,” said 35-year-old Ma. “I was doing great in the first two games today, but failed to collect the points from some good chances during the third. I was not feeling good about it. Fortunately I won the key points in the fourth.”
In the women’s singles draw, China’s Wang Yidi recovered from the first game loss to eliminate European champion Sofia Polcanova from Austria 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-7).
26-year-old Wang will take on Manika Batra of India in the next round. The two had competed in a close fight at the Hangzhou Asian Games when the Chinese edged the opponent 4-2.
The Frankfurt tournament will switch to the round of 16 on Wednesday.
