{"id":9747,"date":"2026-02-22T20:22:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T13:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=9747"},"modified":"2026-02-22T20:22:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T13:22:05","slug":"xingtong-taken-to-the-distance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/xingtong-taken-to-the-distance\/","title":{"rendered":"Xingtong taken to the distance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Third seed Chen Xingtong was taken the distance by Yang Ha Eun before winning  her opening women&#8217;s singles match 6-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-2, 11-6 at the Singapore Smash table tennis championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chen, a former WTT Champions event winner, entered the week amongst the standout title favourites chasing her first WTT Grand Smash success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, she quickly found herself on the backfoot, facing stern opposition from a player who was tasked with navigating the qualifying rounds. With three matches already under her belt this week, Ha Eun was well accustomed to the environment in Smash Arena, and she caught Xingtong out early on, taking the opening game 6-11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Backed up against the ropes, the pressure resting on Ha Eun\u2019s shoulders intensified further despite the Chinese superstar picking up the second game, as Ha Eun found a second wind, hitting back in the third to move just one game away from a huge upset at Singapore Smash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, when it mattered most, Xingtong stepped up to the plate, keeping her cool to force a decider and she wasn\u2019t going to let it slip from there. Kicking the afterburners into action, Xingtong ruthlessly powered through the fifth, leaving Ha Eun in her dust as she brought home her 100th match win on the WTT stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Extending her week, Xingtong&#8217;s second-round surprise opponent is Constantina Psihogios, after the latter player secured a landmark first round win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Chen Xingtong vs Yang Ha Eun | WS R64 | #WTTSingapore2026\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mvdgx2IbWTc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Having exited in the opening round of qualifying last year in Singapore, 17-year-old Psihogios returned to the Lion City, this time taking a spot in the main draw and she didn\u2019t disappoint. The Australian teenager produced an electric display under the lights, outclassing Mariam Alhodaby 11-5, 12-10, 13-11 to reach the Round of 32 for the first time at WTT Grand Smash level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spectators at The Kallang were also treated to a jaw-dropping clash in the men&#8217;s singles as Nicholas Lumcame came close to staging a huge upset over Simon Gauzy, losing by the narrowest of margins  by 6-11, 12-10, 13-15, 12-10, 14-12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outranked by his French counterpart by some 25 positions in the ITTF World Rankings, the odds were stacked against Nicholas Lum heading into the contest, the Aussie player bidding to reach the last 32 of Singapore Smash for the first time. And he nearly did so in the most extraordinary of circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opening up a 1-2 lead three games into the match, Nicholas caused Gauzy all sorts of problems in a crazy showdown, meeting Gauzy\u2019s resolute defence with immense power from the left-hander. The results were spectacular as more and more fans poured into Smash Arena, greeting every mind-blowing rally with deafening applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leading 9-10 in game four, the prospect of the most unlikely of victories was closing in for Nicholas, who now held match point. But three points on the bounce went in Gauzy\u2019s favour, meaning a fifth and final game was required to settle the debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things didn\u2019t slow down in the fifth as both players ferociously fought over each and every point, raising the roof as the match approached the final stretch. On receive of service, Nicholas saved two match points at 10-8 to keep the dream alive, before salvaging two more at 10-11 and 11-12. Emptying the tank, the Australian fought to the last, but in the end, he would be cruelly denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nicholas Lum vs Simon Gauzy | MS R64 | #WTTSingapore2026\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0BhTalPGLCQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A relieved Gauzy offered his beaten opponent a warm embrace, showing his full respect to Nicholas for the part he played in a blockbuster showdown. Upset averted, the Frenchman now turns his attention to Lim Jonghoon, who caught the eye earlier in the day with his 5-11, 11-3, 11-8, 15-13 win over An Jaehyun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Men\u2019s doubles duo Clarence Chew-Josh Chua rocked the The Kallang as the homegrown team got their campaign off to a winning start, upsetting Lubomir Pistejand-Jakub Zelinka 3-11, 13-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pistej-Zelinka are ranked World No.18, while Clarence-Josh are 104th and were given a wildcard to compete at this year\u2019s Singapore Smash.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After being utterly dominated in the first game and then 1-4 down in the second, it looked like the occasion had got the better of Clarence-Josh, and an early exit was on the cards. But to the surprise of everyone watching on, they saved three game points to overturn a 7-10 deficit before taking their own at the second attempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After both sides scored a string of points and traded the lead, the score remained tied at 8-8 in the third, and it was anybody\u2019s guess which way this tie was going. The Slovak Republic players got the three points needed to level the match, but with the scores again equal after 16 points in the fourth, it was the Singaporean\u2019s turn to hit three winners and force a deciding game.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Five points on the bounce after a nervy start to the final game gave Clarence-Josh a healthy cushion that proved vital, and a frustrated Pistej-Zelinka were unable to find their groove, committing several errors as the crowd cheered their players home.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pistej\/Zelinka vs Chew\/Chua | MD R32 | #WTTSingapore2026\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j2s4TKyKbAE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Third seed Chen Xingtong was taken the distance by Yang Ha Eun before winning her opening women&#8217;s singles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-9747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-table-tennis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong.jpg",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong.jpg",1920,1080,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/category\/newsbeat\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chen-Xingtong.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9752,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9747\/revisions\/9752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}