BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sixth seed Lin Shidong and top-ranked Sun Yingsha claimed men's and women's singles titles respectively to round up China's clean sweep of titles at the World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash here on Sunday.
19-year-old Lin faced six-time Olympic champion Ma Long in a thrilling seven-set battle, securing a 4-3 victory (11-4, 7-11, 5-11, 13-15, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8). With this trophy, Lin took his first WTT Grand Smash singles title and third WTT Series singles title this season.
"First, I want to congratulate Lin, he played excellently in recent matches, and I hope our young Chinese players like him can get more attention from the audience. I'm proud of how I fought in the tournament and have no regrets. It's a moment I will cherish," Ma noted, expressing his gratitude towards his supporters.
"I think Captain Ma deserved all the applause today. We both fought hard and tried our best to win. This trophy means a lot to me," Lin said.
In the women's draw, 23-year-old Sun continued her impressive form by overcoming second seed Wang Manyu 4-2 (11-6, 12-14, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7). Sun's skill was especially on display in the third set, as she came back from 2-0 down and bagged ten consecutive points to extend her lead.
"Today's match was tough and also excellent. Whenever I compete against Manyu, it is quite fierce because we are very familiar with each other," said Sun, whose win was her first WTT Grand Smash singles title of the season and second in her career.
"As this is the first WTT Grand Smash event in Beijing, I am pleased to have made such good memories here," Sun reflected. "I'm grateful for the support of spectators and hope to see you next time,"
The 11-day WTT China Smash, the third and final WTT Grand Smash event of 2024, features a prize pool of two million U.S. dollars, with champions in each of the five events earning 2,000 ITTF world ranking points.
Beijing has been selected to host the China Smash from 2024 to 2028 at Shougang Park in the city's western suburbs, where the 2022 Winter Olympic venue, Big Air Shougang, is located. ■
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