Defending champs Zhang, Li into last eight at table tennis worlds

Defending champions Zhang Jike and Li Xiaoxia reached the men's and women's singles quarter-finals after easing past respective opponents at the world table tennis championships on Friday.

Zhang, twice defending champion and a Grand Slam winner, defeated Belarussian veteran Vladimir Samsonov 16-14, 11-8, 11-6, 5-11, 11-3.

The first set was close and both players felt nervous, but it was Zhang who won big points.

Hailed by the noisy crowd in the Suzhou International Exhibition Center, Zhang seemed on course for a 4-0 thrashing against Samsonov after claiming the next two sets. But the Belarussian started to open fire from both sides in the fourth, and plus some sloppy play from Zhang, Samsonov won the set 11-5.

In the fifth set, Zhang turned around the situation and once again showed he was in a different league compared to a 39-year-old Samsonov, storming to a 4-0 lead.

The Belarussian called a timeout but it didn't work. Zhang finally clinched the set 11-3 and the whole match.

Zhang will next take on Japan's world number five Jun Mizutani for a semifinal spot.

In women's singles, China's defending champion Li Xiaoxia was not really troubled by Hong Kong player Jiang Huajun before triumphing 11-6, 11-3, 11-6, 12-10.

Li had full control of the first three sets, and the 34th ranked Jiang started to hit stride in the fourth set, but her efforts fell short. Endi