SINGAPORE - Lin Ye won the the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals Under-21 women's title on Friday after beating Japan's Yui Hamamoto 4-2 (12-10, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8) in the final.

The Singaporean was also the U-21 women's singles champion at the tournament's last edition, which was staged in Dubai last January. She is the first player in the competition's 19-year history to retain her title. This year's tournament is held in Lisbon, Portugal.

The 19-year-old had earlier defeated Hamamoto, also in six games (12-14, 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6 ), in the round-robin group stages.

Said Lin: "I have played against Yui Hamamoto quite a few times before, including the group match yesterday and I have won every time, so I was confident coming into the match."