ITTF Women’s World Cup: Top seed Chen Meng earns maiden title

ITTF Women’s World Cup: Top seed Chen Meng earns maiden title
Chen Meng
Chen Meng during the finals

World number one Chen Meng clinched her maiden title during the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Women’s World Cup in Weihai, China. The Chinese paddler beat the third-ranked and her counterpart Sun Yingsha 11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 in the finals. She claimed the trophy at her inaugural attempt after the top-level competition returned for the first time amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

Chen’s victory at the bio-secure Weihai Nanhai Olympic Center made her the maiden winner of the ITTF #RESTART series. Her tally of senior singles titles also reached 19 with this triumph.

“Last month, I also won a title in the same venue and now this World Cup is a high point for me,” the 26-year-old Chen said, referring to her China National Championships victory.

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“This will help my confidence going into the next tournament and I hope that at the ITTF Finals in Zhengzhou I can continue my good form and win another title,” she added.

Bronze for Japan’s Mima Ito

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Yingsha Sun, Chen Meng and Mima Ito (L-R)

Japanese table tennis player Mima Ito clinched the bronze medal after defeating Han Ying of Germany in straight games. Ito went past Han 11-2, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 to finish at the third position.

Chen’s path to victory included one-sided wins over Romania’s Bernadette Szocs and Lily Zhang of the United States. Following this, she beat the fourth-placed Ying in a seven-game thriller against Ying in the semi-finals. The 26-year-old Chen took the game 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-4.

It was also a debut Women’s World Cup campaign for the second finalist Sun. She booked her spot in the final against Chen after overcoming Japanese second-ranked Mima Ito 12-10, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 4-11, 11-4.

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