18-year-old Japanese prodigy makes Chinese table tennis regret

Surprises kept popping up at China Smash - a tournament in China considered the 'Grand Slam' of table tennis. And Sora Matsushima, an 18-year-old Japanese player, was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.

Tennis player Sora Matsushima is highly rated at the age of 18 - Photo: WTT

On the afternoon of October 2, Matsushima caused a shock when he defeated Liang Jingkun, the 6th seed of the tournament, in the round of 16. It should be noted that Liang is one of the most powerful Chinese tennis players in recent years, having climbed to the 2nd position in the world .

Meanwhile, Matsushima is considered a Japanese table tennis player who has emerged in the past year, inheriting the title of "child prodigy" from his compatriot Tomokazu Harimoto. At only 18 years old, he has entered the world's top 20.

In the first set, Matsushima stunned Liang Jingkun by winning 11-4. In the second set, the Chinese player woke up and won 11-9.

Matsushima continued to take the lead with an 11-8 win in game 3, then Luong equalized 2-2 with the same score in game 4.

In the crucial match, the Japanese table tennis prodigy surprised fans by showing his strong competitive spirit, while his opponent, 10 years older than him, showed signs of tension.

Holding the racket with his left hand, Matsushima possesses the familiar annoying style of left-handed players. And in the final game, he exploded with an 11-8 victory, thereby winning 3-2 overall.

In the first round, Matsushima defeated a home player, Xue Fei, with a score of 3-0. And after 3 matches, he continuously surprised the powerful Chinese table tennis world.

In the quarterfinals, Matsushima will face another "mountain" from the host country - world number 1 Wang Chuqin. The match will take place on October 4.

China Smash is one of the five table tennis tournaments in the Grand Smash system, the top of the world table tennis, equivalent to the Grand Slam system in tennis.

Because it takes place in China - a country that has dominated table tennis for decades, China Smash is also considered the number 1 tournament in the Grand Smash group.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/than-dong-18-tuoi-nhat-ban-khien-bong-ban-trung-quoc-om-han-202510022001052.htm