By Henry Chen 

“I’m upset.” 

Miu Hirano said after her debut performance in the 2016 Chinese Super League yesterday, Sunday 16th October. She plays for the Ordos Team.

This teenage Japanese player recently made her mark in the women’s table tennis after she won the Seamaster 2016 Women’s World Cup. She became the first non-Chinese player to have won the title. This is of course a big confidence booster for her.

Yesterday, Miu Hirano faced Mu Zi of the Bayi Team. Indeed she demonstrated confidence and courage against the Chinese player at the start of the match. She even got the opening advantage. However, she just failed to capitalise on her other opportunities.

Miu Hirano lost in five games (11-9, 17-19, 9-11, 11-7, 5-7).

Miu Hirano knew she had the opportunity to win. Unfortunately for her, she made mistakes in her judgement on the receives. She is still aware of that gap against the Chinese players. Therefore, she wants to work hard for her future matches.

“I will work hard to win the subsequent matches. I hope that I can completely overcome the opponent’s strength,” Miu Hirano concluded.

The Ordos Team lost in 1-3 against Bayi.

Meanwhile, Shandong Luneng had their first match in this season’s league as well. They faced the Jilin Team. The Luneng Team achieved a powerful 3-0 victory without the Grand Slam champion Li Xiaoxia. The team seems to have a new team leader now and she is Zhu Yuling.

Liu Shiwen, who is reported to have a very high compensation and bonus this season, delivered what was expected from her. She gave the Anxin Team two winning points, leading their team to record a 3-1 win.

The other winning teams in the opening round were Beijing and Shandong Jilu. Ding Ning won all her matches to provide a 3-1 success for Beijing. Lastly, Wu Yang played her role as team leader well for Shandong Jilu. She posted two winning points for their team to overcome the hosting opponent Shanxi.

For detailed results, click here CTTSL results Women.