World No. 1 Ding Ning sails into second round

DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 31 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 and defending champion Ding Ning of China breezed past Daria Trigolos of Belarus to reach the second round of the women's singles event at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Wednesday.

Ding, also the Olympic champion, opened her title defense in straight sets 11-4, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4.

She will next take on Karin Adamkova of the Czech Republic, who beat Irina Ciobanu of Romania 4-2 in the other game.

"I just want to feel the atmosphere because in the first few matches I don't think there will be strong opponents," said Ding.

Ding, the only Chinese player drawn in the top half, will have to fight Japan's newly-crowned Asian champion Miu Hirano, Singapore's Feng Tianwei and Dutchwoman Li Jie in later stages.

"The pressure is definitely there, but I need to be prepared for every match," Ding said.