Lin overcomes morning setback to survive punishing day at table tennis worlds

by sportswriters Cao Jianjie and Wang Zijiang

DOHA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Lin Shidong shrugged off a stunning morning defeat to win both his men's singles and doubles matches at the World Table Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

Lin and Kuai Man, the top seeds in mixed doubles, were upset 3-1 (8-11, 11-5, 13-11, 12-10) by Japan's 16th-seeded pair Maharu Yoshimura and Satsuki Odo, leaving Olympic champions Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha as the only Chinese pair remaining in contention.

"I didn't dwell on defeat because I had other important tasks to finish," said the 20-year-old, nicknamed "Stone," after he reached the men's doubles quarterfinals with Lin Gaoyuan on Wednesday night.

The third-seeded Chinese duo swept South Korea's Jang Woo-jin and Cho Dae-seong 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9). Earlier, world No. 1 Lin Shidong overcame a slow start to defeat 74th-ranked Kristian Karlsson of Sweden in five sets (8-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9).

"He is a very strong player and I played a good match, but it was not enough," said Karlsson. "Normally I play with a lot of power, but Lin was way faster than me. I played the first ball quite hard, but he caught it, and I was too slow to follow up."

Japan's Shunsuke Togami produced the biggest upset of the day in the men's singles draw, defeating fourth seed Tomokazu Harimoto in an all-Japanese round of 32 match. The 27th seed won 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9.

Third seed and World Cup champion Hugo Calderano of Brazil rallied from two sets down to defeat 59th-ranked Kirill Gerassimenko of Kazakhstan 4-2 (9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7). Seventh seed Truls Moregard of Sweden overcame Kao Cheng-Jui of Chinese Taipei in six sets (5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 13-15, 11-4, 11-3).

In women's singles action, top-seeded Sun Yingsha of China cruised into the last 16 with a straight-sets win over France's Charlotte Lutz.

"Go go Shasha!" cheered a lively crowd as the 24-year-old star clinched an 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, 11-1 victory over the 20-year-old world No. 92.

"This was our first meeting and I have studied her match videos," said Sun after the 29-minute contest. "She is young and promising."

Sun will next face South Korea's Shin Yu-bin, who advanced by defeating Italy's Gaia Monfardini 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 14-12, 16-14.

Second seed Wang Manyu of China held off a strong challenge from German veteran Han Ying, prevailing 12-10, 12-10, 9-11, 11-4, 13-11.

"Full respect for Han Ying," said Wang. "This is a match of mentality in which I just had a longer breath."

"I just hang in there, believing I would win the game at last," she added.

Han, who underwent surgeries for Achilles tendon ruptures in both feet last year, said her love for table tennis keeps her motivated.

"My child is 12 years old, so I can leave home for different games," said the 42-year-old. "As a chopper, I can hardly find a doubles partner, so I am able to focus on singles." Enditem