The battle for the 2024 International Table Tennis Federation World Cup concluded tonight, with both men’s and women’s singles finals proving to be fiercely fought. After seven games, four Chinese ping pong athletes showcased a world-class table tennis feast for us!
Women’s Singles Final: Sun Yingsha defeated Wang Manyu with a score of 4-3, after an intense competition, Sun Yingsha won her first World Cup women’s singles champion;
Men’s Singles Final: Ma Long narrowly defeated Lin Gaoyuan with a score of 4-3, finally securing his third individual World Cup men’s singles championship.
The event details showed the strong performance of the two players in the women’s singles. According to the latest world singles rankings, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu are ranked first and second, respectively, and they have a significant lead over other players. Wang Manyu won the WTT Singapore Grand Slam women’s singles championship last month, and Sun Yingsha followed by winning the WTT Incheon Champions, making this final highly anticipated due to their excellent forms.
The finals were full of tension and excitement in every game. Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu both exhibited high levels of athleticism. The opening was fiercely contested, with Wang Manyu persistently scoring points and gaining an early advantage, leading to a tug-of-war on the scoreboard. Following several rounds of play, the decisive seventh game—a final showdown—arrived, resulting in Sun Yingsha withstanding the pressure and securing the match with a score of 11-9.
On the other hand, facing Lin Gaoyuan, Ma Long, after losing the first three games, staged a strong comeback by winning the next four, showcasing his astonishing resilience and championship mettle. The final score reflecting a motivating duel, with Ma Long, leveraging his abundant match experience and superior skills, once again ascended the highest podium of the World Cup.
The scores for the final between Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu were 8-11, 5-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9; the scores for Ma Long versus Lin Gaoyuan were 9-11, 9-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8. This was Sun Yingsha’s first-time crowning as World Cup champion, marking an important milestone in her career. On her journey toward a “Grand Slam”, this is a significant accomplishment.
In this final, Wang Manyu’s performance continued to showcase her high level of skill, reaching the pinnacle state in the women’s table tennis field with her match against Sun Yingsha. In men’s ping pong, both Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan are among the top ten in the world, with Ma Long ranked 4th and Lin Gaoyuan 8th. The two players’ competition for the World Cup finals berth was unexpected. During the Paris Olympic cycle, Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin have long occupied the top two spots in the men’s singles world rankings, while Ma Long, who has won a Grand Slam, has had few championships in major events recently, and Lin Gaoyuan’s performance usually follows after the three main forces, even slightly behind Liang Jingkun.
In this World Cup, Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan respectively defeated Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, and their outstanding performances were undoubtedly surprising. In the final’s first game, Lin Gaoyuan quickly took the lead 7-2. However, against a top opponent like Ma Long, Lin Gaoyuan’s lead was not stable. Ma Long kept scoring, and eventually the match reached a tie at 9-9. Lin Gaoyuan then scored two more points, winning the first game 11-9.
In the second game, Lin Gaoyuan was at game point 10-6, but Ma Long scored continuously to catch up to 9-10. At the crucial moment, Lin Gaoyuan won another point, expanding his lead with an 11-9 win. In the third game, Lin Gaoyuan’s lead was even more apparent, starting 6-1. Although Ma Long tried hard to catch up, he couldn’t reverse the disadvantage, and Lin Gaoyuan won again 11-5, bringing the overall score to 3-0.
Facing a large deficit, Ma Long took the lead in the fourth game and, despite Lin Gaoyuan’s efforts to score, Ma Long still won the game 11-8. In the fifth game, Ma Long successfully caught up from a disadvantage of 4-0 to 5-6, then called for a timeout. After the timeout, Ma Long continued his excellent form, overturning the situation and winning the game 11-6, bringing the overall score to 2-3.
In the sixth game, Ma Long’s performance exploded, leading by 9-1 at one point. Including the scoring in the previous game, Ma Long almost erased Lin Gaoyuan’s advantage with a scoring run of 17-1 during this period. 11-4, Ma Long fought back in three straight games, making the overall score even at 3-3, leading the match into the final deciding game.
In the deciding game, although Lin Gaoyuan regained some form, Ma Long’s performance was still superior. Finally securing the victory with 11-8, Ma Long won the championship trophy. This was his fifth appearance in the World Cup finals, and it was his third victory. With this, Ma Long has once again demonstrated his peak strength on the ITTF World Cup stage.
The seven-game World Cup score between Lin Gaoyuan and Ma Long ended with Ma Long’s victory: 9-11, 9-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8. Ma Long’s legendary journey continues, and his amazing story is set to go on.
