PANJIM: Table Tennis powerhouse China, swept both the singles titles at first-ever WTT Star Contender Goa as world number four Wang Yidi brushed aside Chinese Taipei’s Cheng-I-Ching 4-0 (11-6,11-6,11-8,11-4) in a 37-minute demolition at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigao on Sunday.
The men’s singles was an all-Chinese affair, in which Liang Jingkun beat 17-year-old compatriot Lin Shidong 4-2 (11-6,9-11,10-12,12-10,12-10,11-9). This was also Wang’s second consecutive WTT Star Contender title, after her win in Budapest in July last year.
In the women’s singles, Cheng appeared simply outclassed by Yang. Only in the second game there was a moment when both were tied at eight, but beyond that brief period, Wang was in complete control throughout the match.
The men’s singles final saw the finalists treating the packed stadium to some outstanding table tennis. Liang took the first game, but the youngster Lin came back strong to take the next two and looked favourite to take the match when he led 7-2 in the fourth. However, Liang dug deep and used all his experience to claw back and take the game at 12-10. The teenager led for most of the fifth as well, but Liang had come with a mission and won that 12-10 as well. To Lin’s credit he was not bogged down and kept at it, but Liang was too strong on the day, winning the sixth 11-9 and with that the title.
The Japanese pair of Miyu Nagasaki and crowd favourite Miwa Harimoto, won the women’s doubles, with a comfortable 3-0 (11-9,11-7,11-6) win over the Chinese Taipei pair of Cheng and Li Yu-Jhun. Fourteen-year-old Miwa, who has endeared herself to the fans in Goa with her performances which saw her reach two finals in doubles, besides the women’s singles semi-finals, was finally and deservedly rewarded with a title.
The Korean pair of An Jaehyun and Cho Seungmin took the men’s doubles crown, ensuring Korea matched China with two titles in Goa. The duo beat Japan’s Shunsuke Togami, who incidentally also finished runner-up in two finals, and Yukiya Uda 3-1 (11-3,9-11,12-10,11-4) in the final match of the tournament.
Both the singles finals were played in the presence of Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, as well as Petra Sorling, President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), among others. The two also played some table tennis together.
