Chinese paddlers Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin emerged as the respective women's and men's singles winners at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Chongqing on Sunday.
Sun Yingsha (L) and Wang Chuqin pose at the WTT Champions Chongqing award ceremony in Chongqing, China, March 16, 2025. /VCG
Sun retained her title with a straight-game victory over Chen Xingtong, 11-7, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7. The world No. 1 dominated rallies from the outset, leaving her opponent little chance throughout the final.
Earlier in the day, Sun fought back from two games down to overcome third-seeded Wang Yidi 4-2 in the semifinal. Meanwhile, second seed Wang Manyu was forced to withdraw from her semifinal clash against Chen in the fourth game due to injury, sending fourth-ranked Chen into the title match.
"First of all I am very happy to win this championship. From my first match to the last, I felt different things. From the enthusiastic crowd, to the work of the organizers, to the arena and the atmosphere, it all felt very good and I am thankful to everybody for coming to Chongqing and supporting us," Sun said.
In the men's singles final featuring the world's top two paddlers, second-seeded Wang Chuqin, last year's runner-up in Chongqing, defeated top seed Lin Shidong 11-5, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6. With this victory, Wang is set to surpass Lin and reclaim the top position in the world rankings next week.
After Wang's 4-1 comeback victory over Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan, China effectively secured both titles on offer. Lin defeated teammate Liang Jingkun 4-1 to secure the other final spot, also earning his 100th singles victory in WTT events.
"Indeed my performance throughout this tournament has exceeded my expectations. I would say that the Asian Cup was a great confidence boost for me. Throughout last year's WTT Finals in Fukuoka and other competitions, I believe I have matured in terms of mentality, mindset and approach to things. My performance in the final exceeded my expectations considering I was facing a strong player like Lin Shidong. I think I did a great job and maintained a good mentality," Wang said.