WTT Star Contender Goa: China dominates in singles final, Korea dominates in doubles

This clinched the singles, as the men’s singles was a Chinese-only affair, with Liang Jingkun (yr 7) defeating his 17-year-old compatriot Lin Shidong (yr 24) 4-2 (11-6,9-11,10). -12,12-10,12-10,11-9) in the best-of-seven final, which was a much closer affair. It was also Wang’s second straight WTT Star Contender title after winning in Budapest last July.

Both the singles finals were played in the presence of Shri. Anurag Thakur, Hon’ble Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Minister for Youth and Sports and Petra Sorling, President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) among other dignitaries. The two also played ping pong together.

China’s dominance in the singles division:

In the women’s singles, Cheng looked simply outmatched by Yang. There was a moment in just the second game when both were tied at eight, but after that brief period, Wang completely dominated the match. All he said after the match was,

“Overall, I feel really good about going into this tournament and winning it.”

The men’s singles final was a complete contrast in comparison. No quarters were given as both men treated the packed stadium to some excellent table tennis.

Liang took the first game but youngster Lin came back strong to take the next two and looked favored in the match as he led 7-2 in the fourth. However, Liang dug deep and used all his experience to claw back and take the game 12-10. The teenager also led for most of the fifth, but Liang had come up with the task and won that too, 12-10. To Lin’s credit, he didn’t get bogged down and stuck with it, but Liang was too strong on the day, winning the sixth 11-9 and the title in the process.

Liang was excited after the match but vowed to keep working hard.

“Thank you all for your support, I will continue to work hard”

Liang said.

He also had all the kind words for his compatriot Lin, as he said:

“He is a very important part of the Chinese team and hopefully in the future he will be a very important player for China.”

Popular Women’s Doubles Winner:

Japanese pair Miyu Nagasaki and crowd favorite Miwa Harimoto won the women’s doubles with a comfortable 3-0 (11-9,11-7,11-6) win over Chinese Taipei’s Cheng and Li Yu-Jhun. 14-year-old Miwa, who has endeared herself to the Goan fans with performances that saw her reach the semi-finals of the women’s singles as well as the final, was finally and deservedly rewarded with the title. Earlier on Saturday, she had lost the mixed doubles final to Korea’s Jang Woojin and Jeon Jihee.

Miwa said after the match,

“This is the first time I win the WTT Women’s Doubles Championship, I’m really happy.”

Chinese Taipei’s Cheng, who also played a great tournament, unfortunately found himself on the wrong side of the two-day final.

Korea wins men’s doubles for second title in Goa:

Korean pair An Jaehyun and Cho Seungmin took the men’s doubles crown, ensuring Korea will face China with two titles in Goa. In the last match of the tournament, the duo defeated Japan’s Shunsuke Togami, who also finished second in the two finals, and Yukiya Uda 3-1 (11-3,9-11,12-10,11-4).

(excerpt from the press release)