Feng defeated by vastly improved Chen in Astana
She last faced the same opponent in the Asian Championships in Wuxi, China, in April this year and lost 3-0 in the quarter-finals.
But China's Chen Meng has improved "significantly" since then, said Singapore's top paddler Feng Tianwei, after she lost 0-4 (4-11, 8-11, 6-11, 3-11) to the world No. 2 in the women's singles quarter-final at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Astana, Kazakhstan, last night.
"I performed to my normal standards today. I haven't played against her for a while and I feel that she has raised her game in every aspect since then, and it was beyond my expectations," the 31-year-old Feng told The Straits Times in a phone interview last night.
"She seemed much stronger today."
Despite her exit, Feng - the Grand Finals winner in 2010 - said that she was satisfied with her performance.
"I had quite an intensive match yesterday and, while my score today against Chen Meng was not as close as I wanted to, I tried my best," said Feng, who beat Taiwan's Cheng I-Ching 4-1 (11-9, 7-11, 17-15, 11-5, 11-8) in the first round on Thursday.- LIM SAY HENG
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