PARIS: Defending world champion Zhang Jike shook off the challenge of Brazil’s Gustavo Tsuboi to safely advance to the third round of the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris.

Chinese star Zhang, also the Olympic title-holder, was made to labour initially against an opponent ranked 75 places below him before easing to an 11-9, 13-15, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 victory.

The reward for Zhang is a third-round showdown with compatriot Fan Zhendong, the world number 38, who was taken the distance by Portugal’s Joao Monteiro before scraping through in the deciding game.

Top-ranked Xu Xin cruised into the last-32 after dismantling Sweden’s Par Gerell 11-5, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 to set up a meeting with Portuguese Tiago Apolonia.

Reigning World Cup champion and second-seed Ma Long breezed past his second-round opponent Wang Zengyi of Poland 11-8, 11-2, 11-9, 11-5, while 2009 world championship gold medallist Wang Hao dropped just one game as he brushed aside Cheung Yuk of Hong Kong 11-5, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4, 11-3.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2013.