Hana Goda can't hold back the tears as she loses in Beijing. (Photo WTT)
Dang Qiu was one of several big names to fall on Monday at the China Smash table championships as the No.8 seed fell to 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 Feng Yi-Hsing and the Round of 64 came to an end.
Germany’s Qiu rode into China Smash on a huge wave of confidence after lifting the WTT Star Contender Astana men’s singles title just two weeks ago, but was quickly sent crashing back down to earth, as Yi-Hsing controlled the game from the outset.
That win was one of two big victories for Chinese Taipei stars in Smash Arena, as Elias Ranefur became 17-year-old Kuo Guan-Hong’s latest victim, winning 11-4, 11-4, 11-6. Aiming to get his job done quicker than his teammate Yi-Shing, Guan-Hong, who beat Benedikt Duda at Europe Smash – Sweden and Lin Yun-Ju at United States Smash , wrapped up his match in just 18 minutes.
China Smash is proving to be a stomping ground for the underdogs, with six seeded players in men’s dingles and two in women’s singles already crashing out, while 12 qualifiers across both disciplines are into the Round of 32.
One of those to fall at the hands of a qualifier was World No.21 Hana Goda, who was visibly distraught when she was eliminated at the hands of Zong Geman, throwing her towel across the court and onto her bench, losing 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 9-11.
Sabine Winter was utterly determined not to suffer the same fate, with the No.8 seed demolishing wildcard in Jiang Yiyi 11-8, 11-3, 11-6.
Moregaard survives 11-match point test
Truls Moregard came agonisingly close to crashing out of the first round , surviving a five-game battle with Baldwin Chan that had a staggering 11-match points before a winner was decided 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 20-18.
Chan is a men’s doubles specialist and reached the dizzying heights of World No.1 with partner Wong Chun Ting after the Hong Kong, China duo won the Men’s Doubles title at Europe Smash – Sweden 2025.
“It was a one-of-a-kind match for sure, but I thought I was playing good to be honest. I played good shots. He was doing well. At 17-17 I was doing amazing, and he killed it straight. So, my expectations were just to try my best, see if I could manage to win somehow and yeah, managed it in the end, ” said Moregard.
Despite having only made it past the men’s singles Round of 64 at a WTT Grand Smash once in his career, the 21-year-old proved he is more than capable of mixing it with the best at this level, going 1-5 up and then recovering from going 9-7 down to take the opener.
Moregard, the Europe Smash 2025 men’s singles champion, stormed through Game Two, and then edged an exceptionally close Game Three, where neither player had more than a one-point lead until the Swede hit two right at the death.
Game Four was a wild affair, with Chan landing six in a row to lead 3-7, only for Moregard to hit straight back and tie it up at 8-8, but the WTT Star Contender São José dos Campos 2026 Men’s Doubles champion had the last laugh as he forced a decider.
“I mean, in the end it’s a lot about the mental game in table tennis, and I was strong many times today. I did many things that I didn’t want to do when it was close, and still he managed to win the points. I also watched [Tomokazu] Harimoto this morning, I was like, wow, I was thinking we are good in the mental game. And then he had Match Points suddenly, and I was like, ‘What is happening today?’ Normally I’m winning these matches, you know. Somehow I got it done in the end, but it’s not easy. There are no easy matches in table tennis anymore. You cannot come here and expect one easy match. So, I’m ready for it, and I will try my best tomorrow,” added Moregard.
Chan was on the verge of a historic upset when he blitzed to an 8-2 lead, only for Moregard to again come fighting back and level it after 16 points. From that moment, chaos ensued, with Chan failing to convert two Match Points as the decider went to a deuce game.
There were another nine Match Points after that, six of which went to Moregard as he finally got over the line, but there was no celebration from the 24-year-old, as both he and Chan stood in disbelief after what had just unfolded.
Qualifiers defeat seeded players
Qualifier Wim Verdonschot landed a huge victory on Monday, beating No.10 seed Darko Jorgic 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 in the Round of 64.
Verdonschot is competing at a WTT Grand Smash for only the second time in his career. His debut came at Europe Smash – Sweden 2026 in August, where he failed to make it through the qualifying rounds.
This time around, however, the 21-year-old won all three of his qualifying matches, dropping only one game to set up a Main Draw debut against Darko Jorgic.
Slovenia’s Jorgic headed to Beijing off the back of a great run of form, making the quarterfinals at WTT Champions Macao 2026 and pulling off a career-best WTT Grand Smash performance at Europe Smash, where he made the semifinals.
That run has seen Jorgic rise to the World No.12 spot, and he looked set to win the first game before the German overturned a 7-9 scoreline to draw first blood. While Jorgic was able to get a game back, Verdonschot was full of confidence and led all the way through Game Three to regain the lead before securing a huge victory in his young career.
Qualifier Zhu Sibing has been electric so far here in Beijing, going through all three of her qualifying matches without dropping a game, and her great run of form continued into today, beating No.13 seed Joo Cheonhui 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6.
Sibing’s first WTT Grand Smash was here in Shougang Park one year ago, where she also went through the qualifying rounds to reach the Round of 32. After dropping the first game, it wasn’t until Cheonhui took the opening two points in game four that Sibing fell behind, but she bounced back emphatically, hitting eight points in a row to help secure the win.
Another one of China’s qualifiers also got an opening-round win, with Liu Ziling extending her stay in Beijing by beating Margaryta Pesotska 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 in just 21 minutes.
At just 15 years old, Sibing is making her debut WTT Grand Smash an event to remember and will now face No.12 seed, Hitomi Sato.
Epic comeback by Harimoto
Tomokazu Harimoto lives to fight another day after the World No.4 fought back from two games down to overcome Jonathan Groth 9-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-9.
Harimoto had never lost to Groth in all three of their previous WTT Series meetings heading into this one, but the World No.42 made the perfect start and then blew his Japanese counterpart away in the second, leading 2-10. A late charge from the No.3 seed saw him save five Game Points before eventually going down 0-2 in the match.
The WTT Champions Yokohama 2025 and 2026 champion had failed to show up in the first two games and was uncharacteristically quiet and slow, and returned to his coach’s bench with a huge mountain to climb.
With nothing to lose, Harimoto came out swinging and looked like an entirely different player in the third. As he shifted through the gears and dominated the match, the 23-year-old’s trademark cheer rang through Infinity ∞ Arena.
Harimoto led for most of the fourth game, but his mental fortitude was tested when Groth pulled it back to 9-9; he held on to force the decider.
Groth was running out of ideas and needed solutions, and it looked like the 33-year-old had cracked the code when he went up 4-8, but another huge momentum swing loomed.
Harimoto narrowed the gap to 7-9, then served his way to 9-9. At this point, Groth looked nervous, and Harimoto, with fans in Shougang Park cheering his name, pounced, stealing two winners from the Dane to confirm his spot in the Round of 32.
