Wang Chuqin became the new men’s world number one in table tennis

Beijing, July 4 (IANS) Chinese table tennis rising star Wang Chuqin became the new world number one in men’s singles as the International Table Tennis Federation ITTF released its latest world rankings on Tuesday.

Wang’s compatriot Fan Zhendong had been at the top for 142 consecutive weeks. As the world ranking points expire for the ITTF Singapore Smash 2022, the 23-year-old Wang achieved the top spot from Fan, reported Xinhua.

“This achievement marks a historic moment in Wang’s remarkable journey and highlights his exceptional talent and unwavering pursuit of greatness,” reads an article on the ITTF website.

The duo formed the leading Chinese trio with Ma Long, a veteran of the men’s world rankings. In the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender Zagreb, the newly crowned champion Lin Gaoyuan rose to sixth, overtaking another Chinese paddler, Liang Jingkun, in seventh.

Other men’s top 10 players include Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, Brazilian ace Hugo Calderano, South Korea’s Jang Woo-jin, Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju.

On the women’s side, Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Chen Xingtong and Qian Tianyi achieved China’s top six, with Wang Yidi moving up two places to a career-best second.

The Japanese duo Mima Ito and Hina Hayata, the South Korean teenager Shin Yu-bin and the German veteran Han Ying are ranked from seventh to tenth among the female paddlers.

– IANS

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