On the evening of August 19 Beijing time, the WTT European Grand Smash in Sweden saw its first all-Chinese clash. World champion Kuai Man faced teammate and defensive long-pips specialist He Zhuojia. After a fierce four-game battle where every game was decided by just two points, Kuai Man came from behind to win 3-1. She now joins Shi Xunyao and Lin Shidong as the third Chinese Table Tennis Team member to book a spot in the singles Round of 16.
Match Highlights
Background:
Kuai Man, born in 2004, currently sits at World No. 4 and has firmly established herself as a core player in the Chinese women’s team.
He Zhuojia, born in 1998, is ranked World No. 22 and is well known inside the squad as a sparring partner specializing in the unique long-pips style. Though she rarely competes on the world stage, He has played a crucial supporting role in preparing teammates.
Despite this, He Zhuojia is no pushover — she has scored key international wins over top Japanese players and even defeated Kuai Man before in domestic competition. This made the matchup a true test for the younger star.
Match Recap
Game 1: Kuai Man started strong with quick close-to-table attacks but was pulled back by He’s counterplay. Tied late in the game, Kuai faltered under pressure and lost 9-11.
Game 2: Adjusting her placement and variation, Kuai raced to a 7-3 lead before being pegged back. After calling a timeout at 7-6, she steadied herself and edged the game 11-9 to level the score.
Game 3: Another tight affair saw Kuai exploit her left-handed angles to attack He’s forehand side. She reached 10-7, but a service fault challenge cost her one point. Still, she held on to win 11-9 and take the lead.
Game 4: Kuai gained control at 9-5, only for He to fight back to 9-9. At the crucial moment, Kuai landed two decisive rallies to close out the match 11-9 and complete the comeback.
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Post-Match Takeaways
He Zhuojia’s unorthodox style is most effective when opponents are unfamiliar with it, but as teammates, Kuai Man knew her patterns well and was able to neutralize her strengths. The loss for He was therefore expected, while Kuai showed resilience by recovering from a one-game deficit.
So far, out of 15 Chinese singles participants, five have been eliminated (Lin Gaoyuan to Simon Gauzy, Xiang Peng to Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Liang Jingkun to Truls Moregardh, Qian Tianyi to Harimoto Miwa, and He Zhuojia to Kuai Man). Meanwhile, Shi Xunyao, Lin Shidong, and Kuai Man have advanced to the Round of 16, with the remaining players set to face international opponents in the next stage.
