Chinese paddlers claimed opening victories at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals on Friday, surviving a scare from Team India to win 3-2 in the women's team event, while outclassing Team Belgium in straight matches in the men's event.
World No. 155 Ayhika Mukherjee, characterized by anti-spin rubber on her backhand, stunned top-ranked Sun Yingsha 12-10, 2-11, 13-11, 11-6.
Sun Yingsha (R) and Ayhika Mukherjee in action during the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals women's event in Busan, South Korea, February 16, 2024. /CFP
"This is the best victory in my lifetime," said Mukherjee, who also beat China's Olympic champion Chen Meng and Wang Yidi in the women's doubles quarter-final round with younger sister Sutirtha at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
Wang Manyu helped China restore parity with an 11-3, 11-8, 13-15, 11-7 victory over India's highest-ranked Manika Batra.
India went ahead again through another surprising victory, as 49th-ranked Sreeja Akula defeated Wang Yidi, who is 47 places higher than her in the world rankings, 11-7, 11-9, 13-11.
With the Chinese side on the line, Sun regained her form to beat 36th-placed Batra 11-3, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9.
In the decisive match, Wang Manyu scored her second point of the day, triumphing 11-9, 13-11, 11-6 over Mukherjee.
Fan Zhendong (R) and Cedric Nuytinck in action during the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals men's event in Busan, South Korea, February 16, 2024. /CFP
On the men's side, world No. 1 Fan Zhendong set the pace for China's win, overwhelming Cedric Nuytinck 11-5, 11-6, 11-6.
Second-ranked Wang Chuqin extended the defending champions' lead to two sets after overmatching Adrien Rassenfosse in straight games.
Following an 11-8 victory in the first game, Wang was dragged in a more fierce second game featuring technical miscues which led to a pause of the game for a few minutes. Building an early lead, Wang saw his advantage relinquished after conceding several points in a row and found himself down 9-10, while regrouping himself to triumph 13-11. Then Wang marched on to seal the deal, coming on top 11-4 in the third game.
Olympic champion Ma Long closed out the match after outperforming Martin Allegro 11-4, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7.
The Chinese players continue their title-defense campaign on Saturday against Uzbekistan in the women's group event, and Cuba in the men's.
(With input from Xinhua)