China’s Sun Yingsha added another accolade to her already glittering table tennis resume on Sunday, becoming the first woman to win a third consecutive World Cup title.
Sun, who defeated compatriot Wang Manyu 4-1 at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, joined compatriot Fan Zhendong as the only players in the history of the game to manage the feat. Fan claimed the men’s singles title three times, starting in 2018.
On a day where China’s dominance was once again tested, Wang Chuqin finally captured the men’s title that had so far eluded him, with a 4-3 victory over Japan’s Sora Matsushima.
Sun’s margin of victory only tells part of the story, as the two best players battled it out in a fierce and exciting affair.
Wang Manyu pushed his opponent hard in every game and refused to do anything directly. Only the third game was a more up-tempo battle, up 13-11 before Sun took the game and Wang’s reply in the fourth game, taking it 11-8 to stay in the contest, was a reminder of how good the score was throughout.
In the end, it was only Sun’s experience, composure and class that proved the difference as he won 11-9, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-7.
