With Wang Manyu's 4-2 victory over Hashimoto, the women's singles semifinalists are decided, featuring three unexpected players, along with the semifinal matchups

On August 23rd Beijing time, the WTT Sweden Grand Slam women's singles quarterfinals wrapped up. In the last match, China's main player Wang Manyu fought hard over six games to eliminate Japanese defensive expert Honoka Hashimoto 4-2, clinching the final semifinal berth. This completes the tournament's final four: Sun Yingsha, Chen Yi, Shi Xunyao, and Wang Manyu. The semifinals will feature Sun Yingsha against Chen Yi and Shi Xunyao challenging Wang Manyu!

Wang Manyu versus Honoka Hashimoto. Ranked second in the world, Wang Manyu faced a tough challenge in the round of 16, coming back from 1-2 down to win two consecutive games and narrowly defeat Miyu Nagasaki 3-2 to reach the quarterfinals. There, she faced the elusive defensive player Honoka Hashimoto, who had upset Chinese players Qian Tianyi and Wang Yidi, proving to be very difficult. Therefore, Wang Manyu was expected to face a huge challenge once again. Absolutely!

The match began with no cautious probing from either side, both players evenly matched and exchanging points fiercely. At the crucial moment, Wang Manyu decisively took the first game 12-10. In the second game, Hashimoto launched an offensive, scoring from multiple angles to quickly take the lead and even the score at 11-7. The third game saw Wang Manyu aggressively attack Hashimoto, overwhelming her early and winning comfortably 11-7. The fourth game was closely contested until Hashimoto surged ahead late to claim it 11-8, leveling the match at 2-2—she was truly tough to beat. In the pivotal fifth game, Wang Manyu pressed her advantage, gradually pulling ahead. Although Hashimoto closed the gap at one point, Wang Manyu's strategic play kept her opponent's comeback in check, winning 11-7. In the sixth game, Wang Manyu stayed fully focused, resisting Hashimoto’s strong attacks and actively controlling the rallies to secure an 11-8 victory, sealing the match 4-2!

With this win, Wang Manyu successfully upheld China's honor and contributed greatly to the nation's clean sweep of the semifinals. It must be said that Wang Manyu was incredibly consistent. The women's singles semifinal matchups are now confirmed: Chen Yi will face Sun Yingsha again, and Shi Xunyao will challenge Wang Manyu. Additionally, the quarterfinals produced three surprises: first, the women's singles is so strong that all four semifinalists are Chinese players once again achieving a total sweep; second, all Japanese female players were eliminated by Chinese opponents; third, although Hashimoto lost, she was very tough to play against, and Wang Manyu’s victory was far from easy!

Written by / Sports Novel