Sun Yingsha to meet Mima Ito first at ITTF Women's World Cup
CGTN
Mima Ito (L) of Japan and Sun Yingsha of China /CFP

Mima Ito (L) of Japan and Sun Yingsha of China /CFP

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Women's World Cup began on Sunday in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province. After first day competitions, eight players will join the top 8 seeds in the knockout stage. China's Sun Yingsha division with two Japanese players, meaning she will meet Mima Ito, China's biggest rival, first in the event.

China and Japan both sent two players to Women's World Cup. Chen Meng, Ito and Sun are No. 1 to No. 3 seeds while Kasumi Ishigawa is No. 6 seed. The draw for knockout matchups put Sun, Ito and Ishigawa in the same division. Sun's first opponent will be Adriana Diaz from the U.S. If Sun wins, she will meet the winner between Ishigawa and Sun Hyo-won of South Korea.

Ito's first rival will be Jeon Ji-hee of South Korea before she meets the winner between Doo Hoi Kem of China's Hong Kong and Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei. Chen is in the other division, and her first opponent will be Bernadette Szocs of Romania.

Chen Meng of China practices at the ITTF Women's World Cup in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province, November 8, 2020. /CFP

Chen Meng of China practices at the ITTF Women's World Cup in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province, November 8, 2020. /CFP

"I have trained here before and played the Chinese National Championships recently in Weihai too, so it's good to be back. In the last few days, I have met many other players again, and even just seeing them in person has been exciting. I am getting myself into tournament mode now, and I will be going all out to win the Women's World Cup title," said Chen.

It has caused a lot of trouble in various events for China in recent years and thus has been seen as one of the country's biggest challenges at the postponed Tokyo Olympics. Chen and Sun, who are hopeful of attending the Olympics on behalf of China, can use a point in their favor in national team selection if they can defeat Ito and win the championship in Women's World Cup.

Many international table tennis events were canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Women's World Cup in China marked the restart of international competitions. Steve Dainton, CEO of the ITTF, expressed his gratitude towards everyone who contributed to bringing back the contests.

Liu Guoliang (Bottom L), President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, and Steve Dainton (Bottom R), CEO of the International Table Tennis Federation, pose for a photo at the opening ceremony of the ITTF Women's World Cup in Weihai, November 8, 2020. /Xinhua News Agency

Liu Guoliang (Bottom L), President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, and Steve Dainton (Bottom R), CEO of the International Table Tennis Federation, pose for a photo at the opening ceremony of the ITTF Women's World Cup in Weihai, November 8, 2020. /Xinhua News Agency

"It has not been an easy road to get to this point, and putting these major events in one bubble has required an enormous team effort. Therefore, I say a big thank you to everyone at the ITTF who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes. A huge thanks goes to CTTA (Chinese Table Tennis Association), led by President Liu Guoliang, and also the Local Organizing Committee who have provided exceptional support in extremely complicated circumstances," said Dainton.

"International table tennis events restarted in China, which not only responds to the expectations of table tennis fans around the world but also provides a good opportunity to show the achievements of China's epidemic prevention and control to the world," said Liu, President of the CTTA.