Macao: Chinese paddlers Wang Chuqin, and Sun Yingsha were crowned champions in the men’s and women’s singles finals at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Macao 2022 here on Sunday.
Wang, 22, defeated world No.1 Fan Zhendong to win the men’s singles title in a close match going deep into the seventh game 11-5, 12-14, 12-10, 8-11, 11-1, 9-11, 11-8.
“Today’s match was really intense. I feel really lucky in Macao because I have achieved good results here,” said Wang, who won the postponed WTT Champions Macao 2021 China Stars in January this year.
On the women’s side, world No.1 Sun remained in charge throughout the final to take down compatriot Chen Xingtong 12-10, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 12-10 after a five-game battle, reports Xinhua.
“We both played equally well today. Maybe I was a little luckier,” Sun said.
Earlier, world No. 3 Liang Jingkun and Olympic champion Chen Meng were taken out by opponents, failing to win tickets to the quarterfinals on Saturday.
In a stressful five-game encounter, world No. 2 Ma Long held off European champion Qiu Dang 11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 11-7, surviving a real nail-biter.
World champion Fan came through a tricky contest to defeat American paddler Kanak Jha 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8. Jha held an 8-6 lead in game four but proved unable to force a decider.
French teenage player Alexis Lebrun defeated world No. 3 Liang Jingkun in a five-game thriller, while Romanian woman paddler Bernadette Szocs toppled Chen Meng in a 3-2 tangle.
–IANS