WTT Champions Macau: Zhu Yuling enjoys home support, not torn over facing China stars
Brazil’s Hugo Calderano beats An Jae-hyun of South Korea as he returns to the city where he celebrated his greatest triumph
Zhu Yuling hailed the backing of her adopted city after making a winning start to the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions event in Macau on Tuesday.
Sichuan-born former world No 1 Zhu donned the colours of the casino hub last year as she made her international comeback following serious illness, after previously representing her native mainland China.
And she showed the Macau crowd how far she had come, with a comprehensive 11-5, 11-1, 11-6 victory over Sreeja Akula of India at the East Asian Games Dome.
Having ended her 4½ years on the sidelines when she appeared at last year’s edition of this tournament, she began her bid for glory this week re-established in the world’s top 10 and confident of progress, urged on by hometown support.
“Playing here surely feels different from [how it feels for] the other players,” the 30-year-old said. “I feel very happy and satisfied, because everyone gave me more applause.