Kuai Man (L) and Lin Shidong take trophies after they win the mixed doubles final at the WTT Contender Amman, Jordan, February 12, 2023. /WTT Weibo account
China's Lin Shidong lifted his first-ever men's singles trophy at a World Table Tennis (WTT) Series event, upsetting world No. 9 Dimitrij Ovtcharov from Germany in the WTT Contender Amman in Jordan on Sunday.
As a rising star in the game's powerhouse Chinese team, the 17-year-old defeated the tournament's second seed Ovtcharov, 34, in straight sets 11-7, 11-3, 13-11, 11-8 in the final.
From south China's Hainan Province, Lin's real time world ranking climbed up to No. 23.
Ovtcharov, a formidable opponent to Chinese players, beat world No. 1 Fan Zhendong in a five-game epic (4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6) at WTT Cup Finals Xinxiang 2022 last year.
Liu Yebo (L) and Xu Yingbin competes in the men's doubles final at the WTT Contender Amman, Jordan, February 12, 2023. /WTT Weibo account
Earlier, Lin paired up with Kuai Man to win the mixed doubles on Saturday with an 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 victory over Romanian duo Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs, bringing home their fifth straight WTT title in the category in 2023.
Meanwhile, Liu Yebo and Xu Yingbin pocketed the men's doubles title with a full-sets win over top-ranked Yukiya Uda and Shunsuke Togami of Japan.
The women's singles title went to top seed Mima Ito of Japan, after her second-seeded opponent Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong, China was forced to withdraw from the final due to injury.
Cheng I-ching and Li Yu-jhun of Chinese Taipei emerged victorious in the women's doubles after edging past French pair Camille Lutz and Prithika Pavade in full sets.
(With input from Xinhua)