Liang and Moyland Upset World No. 15 Pair to Reach U.S. Smash Round of 16
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by Joshua Dyke | USA Table Tennis
Doubles: Jishan Liang and Sally Moyland in the mixed doubles round of 32 against Koen Pang and Jian Zeng (SGP) at the 2026 U.S. Smash. Ontario Convention Center. Ontario, Calif. June 28, 2026. (Photo by USATT)
Wild-card Americans Jishan Liang and Sally Moyland pulled off one of the biggest opening-day surprises of the U.S. Smash main draw, upsetting Singapore’s world No. 15 mixed doubles pair Koen Pang and Jian Zeng 3-2 (13-11, 9-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4) to advance to the Round of 16.
“We played a very good match today,” said Jishan Liang. “We trusted each other. That was the key. Sally is skilled at the table and very consistent, we just wanted to stay ready for each rally.”
The American duo built a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 before the Singaporeans rallied to force a deciding Game 5. Moyland's speed at the table and Liang's powerful attacks helped the Americans race to an 11-4 finish in the final game.
“I'm very proud of them, they hung tough. I felt like they could have won 3-1, which would have been big, but you know, even overcoming when they came back, I felt they played really well in the last game,” said coach Mark Hazinski after the match.
The victory was the United States' standout win of the opening day of the main draw.
Sally Moyland and Jishan Liang are scheduled to face the fifth-seeded Indian pair of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale tomorrow at 5:55 p.m. ET / 2:55 p.m. PT on Table 4.
Earlier in the day, Moyland advanced in women’s doubles alongside Lily Zhang, defeating U.S. National Team teammates Amy Wang and Jessica Reyes-Lai.
Playing together for the first time, Moyland and Zhang showed immediate chemistry in a convincing 3-1 victory. The win sets up a Round of 16 meeting with the No. 2-seeded Japanese duo of Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata.
The United States and Japan will clash Tuesday, June 30 at 10:10 p.m. ET / 7:10 p.m. PT on Table 1 inside Maverick Arena at the Ontario Convention Center.
Another American mixed doubles team also advanced on opening day as wild cards Nandan Naresh and Jessica Reyes-Lai defeated Bosman Botha (USA) and Qin Yuxuan (CHN) in straight games. They’ll play the second-seeded Brazilians Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi in the Round of 16 on Monday, June 29 at 8:55 p.m. ET / 5:55 p.m. PT on Table 1.
