Ma Long of China competes during the men's team finals table tennis match between China and South Korea at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, Sept 26, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

FRANKFURT - Olympic champion Ma Long beat longstanding rival Chuang Chih-yuan from Chinese Taipei 3-1 on Tuesday at the 2023 WTT Champions Frankfurt in their 17th encounter.

Two-time table tennis Olympic champion Ma had led the head-to-head record 14-2 against Chuang, and extended the overwhelming advantage on Tuesday's match 11-4, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11 to reach the round of 16.

Ma was given a yellow card for delaying during the third game before he grabbed the match point to seal the victory.

"It was six years ago when we played last time. As a 42-year-old veteran, Chuang has always been in good shape and hungry for the win," said 35-year-old Ma. "I was doing great in the first two games today, but failed to collect the points from some good chances during the third. I was not feeling good about it. Fortunately I won the key points in the fourth."

In the women's singles draw, China's Wang Yidi recovered from the first game loss to eliminate European champion Sofia Polcanova from Austria 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-7).

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Wang, 26, will take on Manika Batra of India in the next round. The two had competed in a close fight at the Hangzhou Asian Games when the Chinese edged the opponent 4-2.

The Frankfurt tournament will switch to the round of 16 on Wednesday.