Reigning world champion Liu Shiwen overcame a slow start and a late scare to win the all-Chinese final 4-2 over Zhu Yuling and lifted the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Women's World Cup trophy for a record fifth time on Sunday.
The 28-year-old former world No. 1, who was crowned at the World Championships for the first time in her over 20 years career in Budapest last April, rallied past the top seed and 2017 Cup winner Zhu 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6, 3-11, 11-9.
"It's a very important victory for me," Liu told a post-match press conference. "The four previous titles were all taken at my younger ages when I was fierce and had no fear at all."
Liu had previously won the Cup in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015. Sunday's triumph helped her surpass table tennis Grand Slam champions Wang Nan and Zhang Yining to become the most profiled Cup winner.
Liu Guoliang, the chairman of Chinese Table Tennis Association, holds the winner's prize in front of Liu Shiwen, ITTF Women's World Cup, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, October 20, 2019. /VCG Photo
"But this time, it came a year ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, when the atmosphere in our Chinese national team becomes quite in tension as time goes by," she said.
"I had been so long for the Cup trophy since I needed a weighted title to prove myself, especially after taking the World Championship but losing some of the Tour matches," said the 2016 Rio Olympic team gold medalist as she recalled the past months.
"That's why I had put a lot of pressure on myself here and thus valued the title so much," she said.
Liu breezed past wildcard entry from the United States Lily Zhang in straight four sets, 11-6, 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 to make the final, while the 24-year-old Zhu denied a half-way comeback from Singapore veteran Feng Tianwei to win the semis 11-1, 11-13, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-5.
"I'm actually happy with the results," said Zhu, ranked world No. 3 in the latest ITTF standings. "Comparing with my recent outings in the World Tour, I'm satisfied with my performance here and rated it a new start to my preparations for next year's Olympic Games."
Earlier on Sunday evening, Feng beat Lily Zhang 11-6, 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 15-13 to finish third at the 250,000 U.S. dollars annual event.
(Cover photo via VCG)