Zhang Jike of China competes during the men's single round 3 of table tennis against Chen Chien-An of Chinese Taipei at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 8, 2016. Zhang Jike won with 4:0. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)
All four Chinese paddlers progressed through to the round of last 16 in the men's and women's singles with straight-set victories at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games on Monday.
The second seeded Zhang Jike, well known for his slow start, opened the defence of his title Monday with a 11-5, 13-11, 12-10, 11-7 victory over Chinese Taipei's Chen Chien-An, who beat Zhang in the first round of the South Korea Open in June.
"This is a special place and I'm more eager to win the Olympic title again," said Zhang, a multi-world championship and World Cup titlist.
"Actually, the pressure of playing at the Olympics is as much for me as for my opponents," he added. "I think everybody here is super eager to win, so I have to be serious since every point counts."
Zhang will face Romania's Adrian Crisan later on Monday evening after the latter rallied past South Korea's 12th seed Lee Sangsu 9-11, 13-11, 5-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-6, 13-11 in the afternoon.
On the women's part, China's No. 3 seed Li Xiaoxia set up a fourth-round encounter against the 15th-seeded Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong, China, as the London Olympic champion eased past Li Fen, who represents Sweden in Rio, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 in 23 minutes.
Li's next opponent is Lee Ho Ching, who beat Ukraine's Tetyana Bilenko 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 13-11, 11-6 to reach the last 16.
Ma Long and Ding Ning, the top seed for the men's and women's singles competition respectively, made their Olympic debut with stylish victories on Sunday.
