China Smash 2025

[zeio]

WS R16
Harimoto (6) 3-1 Odo (10) (-6, 10, 6, 3)
G2 27, 37, 38, 39, 49, 410, 710 TO for Odo, 1210, 8 in a row for Harimoto
Harimoto is spent from taking on 3 events and only kept afloat by strong will.

 

[Shine]

People watch the matches they want to watch, they paid for their entertainment, they shouldn't be forced to watch what doesn't entertain them. Even I am not entertained by all the matches, talk less of someone watching a match that does not excite them, especially live when there are no distractions unlike on TV when you can do multiple things.

People gotta complain about how the Chinese eat, drink, support fans, but plane tickets, visit the doctors, poop nowadays.

 

[NextLevel]

Uda surpasses Togami with this vengeful result on Moregardh. We will see how far it goes.

 

[JackJohnson]

Uda surpasses Togami with this vengeful result on Moregardh. We will see how far it goes.

Matsushima as well. Been impressed with these two players so far this tournament.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Shin Yubin takes down Kuai Man 3-2, 11-9 !

 

[zeio]

WS R16
SYB (16) 3-2 KM (4) (-7, 7, 9, -8, 9)
G5 66, 610, 910, 911
Same problem for KM as in ATTC 2024 - poor receiving on serves to her 小三角/little triangle.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

Miss Doubles only finally snatches a good win against a top Chinese. only number 4 but there must be a first time

 

[I Love Anders Lind]

Geiger has made 5 direct fault serve calls in 2 days and every single one of them have been challenged...and every one was correct. not to mention the 1 or 2 he called as 2nd umpire.

table tennis's answer to pierluigi collina the man is

 

[I Love Anders Lind]

People gotta complain about how the Chinese eat, drink, support fans, but plane tickets, visit the doctors, poop nowadays.

tbf the china shatou fans are trash. how many times has the ump had to stop play for cam flashes already? its already cost chen yuanyu a match against felix

 

[I Love Anders Lind]

tbf the china shatou fans are trash. how many times has the ump had to stop play for cam flashes already? its already cost chen yuanyu a match against felix

though i do agree that expecting them to watch matches theyre not interested in is nitpicky

 

[zeio]

Matsushima as well. Been impressed with these two players so far this tournament.

Interesting tidbit. Matsushima (speaking as a proud young master with his head up high) actually said he was not in his best condition and feeling tired after beating Franziska (10/1 18:35), which took place after losing the XD (10/1 13:55).

Poor Harimoto siblings for all the babysitting...

🇯🇵18-year-old Sora Matsushima STUNS 🇩🇪Franziska, Faces 🇨🇳Liang Jingkun Next｜WTT China Smash｜卓球｜松島輝空
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v6pJ0jzgI0

 

[I Love Anders Lind]

not so sure about that. lgy is actually not naturally talented; wu jingping (fzd's coach) said so himself. he didnt rate him at all as a junior

hes not a natural leftie and forced himself to play that style to have a shot in the team

in that sense he was a victim of his own success; his (Lin Gaoyuan's) being left handed in a time where china lacked them for doubles (alongside his grit/effort) elevated him to a position he didnt really feel comfortable with, and hence the reversals that come along with it.

hes an ordinary guy that the made the most out of the hand life dealt him. a player not blessed with the sturdy physique of liang or the explosiveness of fan but still clawed his way into the top echelons of the sport despite it.

there was this little anecdote bout him about his time in the youth squad, when he and a bunch of other 14 15 year olds from the provincial teams were looking to make it big. After a training session they were approached by a kid who had a speech disability (think it was to get sautographs or something, cant rmb). most of the guys there mocked and made fun of the way he talked and imitated him...only lin signed his bat and even brought him around the hall. the fan still remembered it almost 10 years later and became a fan of Lin for life.

are/should athletes be judged for thei achievements? sure, but thats never been the only criterion here. behind the trophies and the glamour, its easy to lose sight of the fact that sport at its core is supposed to be about striving to be better, both on and more importantly off the court. modern athletes are superstars that loads of people look up to, and have a responsibility to set an example.

i think, when alls said and done, Lin can look back on his career and say that "im proud of my choices and my conduct".

Not many athletes can do that.

 

[zeio]

Uda's win rate has gone from 38.9% in mid-June to 57.5% now (58.5%/56.1% if he beats/loses to LSD next). He's only 1 win short of Togami with 1 more match played.
Matsushima already had the 2nd most wins and has now overtaken Togami in win rate after beating Franziska (63.4%) and LJK (64.3%) (65.1%/62.8% if he wins against/loses to WCQ/AJH in QF).

Harimoto (41/55=74.5%, R64 at China Smash) - WCQ at CS Yokohama (first MS win and bo7 rather than MT win);
Togami (24/39=61.5%, R32 at China Smash) - Jorgic at WTTC and LYJ at Europe Smash, and first WTT title at CT Almaty;
Matsushima (27/42=64.3%, >=QF at China Smash) - First WTT title at CT Taiyuan as well as first Zennihon title;
Shinozuka (19/38=50%, R64 at China Smash) - XF at WTTC;
Tanaka (19/32=59.4%, no China Smash) - Moregard and A. Lebrun at US Smash; and
Uda (23/40=57.5%, >=QF at China Smash) - Duda at CS Chongqing, JWJ at Europe Smash, LYJ and Moregard at China Smash (1st senior win over LYJ since his junior win in their only encounter) and first WTT title at FEE Cappadocia II.

Shinozuka is the one getting roasted over at 5ch and for good reasons after a look at their respective current win rate...

Notably, Uda's win rate went from 38.9% in mid-June to 55.3% now. He's only 3 wins short of Togami. Harimoto turns out to be doing fantastic. Tanaka is not shabby and deserves a pat on the back given his low participation and whatever little support he gets from JTTA.

A lot of MS firsts in 2025 for:
Harimoto (41/55=74.5%, R64 at China Smash) - WCQ at CS Yokohama (first MS win and bo7 rather than MT win);
Togami (24/38=63.2%, >=R32 at China Smash) - Jorgic at WTTC and LYJ at Europe Smash, and first WTT title at CT Almaty;
Matsushima (25/40=62.5%, >=R32 at China Smash) - First WTT title at CT Taiyuan as well as first Zennihon title;
Shinozuka (19/38=50%, R64 at China Smash) - XF at WTTC;
Tanaka (19/32=59.4%, no China Smash) - Moregard and A. Lebrun at US Smash; and
Uda (21/38=55.3%, >=R32 at China Smash) - Duda at CS Chongqing, JWJ at Europe Smash and LYJ at China Smash (1st senior win over the latter since his junior win in their only encounter) and first WTT title at FEE Cappadocia II.

2025/6/17
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/wtt-contender-skopje-2025-jun-9-15.37408/post-528355


2025/6/27
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...ll-play-for-another-4-years.35128/post-533058


2025/9/22
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...ll-play-for-another-4-years.35128/post-542023

 

[zeio]

Uda surpasses Togami with this vengeful result on Moregardh. We will see how far it goes.

Bicker and banter are all fun to explore, but their rivalry should be the last thing on their mind now. Matsushima is putting Togami's MS hope for LA28 in jeopardy for real as one Tieba user projected in late July (which you brushed off). Shinozuka should be concerned as well now.

It seems Ueda should reconsider "coloring Togami in his own way" after this. Qiu Jianxin is really something, bringing out the best of Uda in several months' time.

2025/6/15 when Uda's win rate was 38.9%
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/wtt-contender-skopje-2025-jun-9-15.37408/post-528210

Well, Togami admitted Uda performed better on the world stage. As usual, feel free to convince him.

2025/8/20
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...sh-sweden-august-14-24-2025.35820/post-536869

No. Togami has not fulfilled his potential, whereas Uda's style dictates that he will not be as consistent but as Mizutani also admits, Japan needs someone explosive like Korea has, which is who?

2025/9/24
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...ll-play-for-another-4-years.35128/post-542296

Interviews with Togami and Uda at the Meidai Dream Games in August.
...
-- Looking back on your rivalry with Togami, what are your honest thoughts?
"I think it was a pretty difficult match. We had to get the crowd excited when we needed to, and we had to play with all our might. We made some great plays, and although it wasn't the main event, it was fun playing against Togami again after so long. You probably couldn't tell from today's match, but I think I've gotten stronger, and I hope to compete on a bigger stage like the WTT or the All-Japan Championships."

 

[driversbeat]

Miss Doubles only finally snatches a good win against a top Chinese. only number 4 but there must be a first time

Shin also beat Kuai Man at Asian Champs last year. R16

 

[mikeytt]

@mikeytt Uda did it again! Usually, the toughest match is after you scored a big upset, but there were no signs of that today.

MS R16
Yukiya Uda vs Truls Moregard 3-1 (9,6,-7,3)

his decision to play in a small Feeder a few weeks ago is paying off 💪 he’s putting in the work and it’s paying off, so happy for him 🤩

 

[zeio]

The highlight doesn't do Uda's win justice but still it left in the shots of Moregard's expression at the end of G2 and G4, from "I'm the inaugural Europe Smash champion" to "I get owned by the latest Feeder champion."

Moregard displayed his superior TTQ and technical ability and tried to impose the 小路球/small road balls on Uda, but Uda with whatever tactics Qiu Jianxin came up, didn't even bat an eye and simply "took off and nuked the entire site from orbit", all without getting caught.

Fan vote
Moregard 80% - 20% Uda
LIVE! | Infinity ∞ Arena | Day 5 | China Smash 2025 | Session 1
https://youtu.be/ltJm3pY5WZw?t=5993

 

[NextLevel]

Bicker and banter are all fun to explore, but their rivalry should be the last thing on their mind now. Matsushima is putting Togami's MS hope for LA28 in jeopardy for real as one Tieba user projected in late July (which you brushed off). Shinozuka should be concerned as well now.

It seems Ueda should reconsider "coloring Togami in his own way" after this. Qiu Jianxin is really something, bringing out the best of Uda in several months' time.

2025/6/15 when Uda's win rate was 38.9%
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/wtt-contender-skopje-2025-jun-9-15.37408/post-528210


2025/8/20
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...sh-sweden-august-14-24-2025.35820/post-536869


2025/9/24
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...ll-play-for-another-4-years.35128/post-542296

I dont brush off anything, please stop confusing my mindset with yours. I let the players play and decide. After all, I didn't spend years claiming Matsushima was useless only to now have to start turning around when his results show enough of an uptick that it is hard to deny he has a chance for LA 2028.

Ultimately, Togami and Ueda have time. Togami is the one who needs to see that no good player is doing what he is doing, even Hugo ans Wang who are probably the closest.

 

[NextLevel]

Even Uda is upgrading his backhand play as well. No one is messing around anymore. The Koreans are playing more like Japan, Japan also needs to play more like Korea lol.

Watching the match again, it was clear that Truls was surprised by the differencenin playing level from the last time hr played Uda. Uda by attacking the serve forced Truls into uncomfortable positions often and early. Not entirely sure the result is stable for those reasons so a rematch will reveal a lot. Truls will have to serve and receive much better to have a chance to contain Uda.

 

[NextLevel]

Broken record moment: watching An play Thakkar of India, I was so impressed by his backhand play. If he can continue to play at that level on backhand, Wang isn't safe. The problem though is the Wang serve... they really need TTR to monitor contact over the table... a lot of pros are developing really dodgy contacts...