China’s table tennis youngsters flex dominance, sweep doubles at Singapore Smash

SINGAPORE – The future of Chinese table tennis is on display at the ongoing Singapore Smash, giving fans at the OCBC Arena the opportunity to catch two of its rising young stars – Lin Shidong, 19 and Kuai Man, 21.

On Feb 8, Lin and Kuai clinched gold medals in the men’s and women’s doubles respectively at the US$1.5 million (S$2.03 million) tournament to add to

their mixed doubles title from a day earlier.

The duo are on track for a clean sweep of titles on Feb 9, when they compete in the finals of the men’s and women’s singles.

Lin’s meteoric rise to world No. 2 is no surprise to insiders. Aged 10, he was the youngest athlete in the Hainan provincial team and a year later, he was the youngest to compete in the national championships.

In 2022, he was selected for the national team and last August, travelled to the Paris Olympics as a sparring partner and the youngest member of China’s delegation.

He was unstoppable in 2024, winning his first World Table Tennis (WTT) singles title at the WTT Champions Macao by beating teammate and world No. 1 Wang Chuqin.

A month later, he beat six-time Olympic champion Ma Long in the China Smash final, before clinching another title in Frankfurt.

Despite being touted as one of the next generation of table tennis stars, Lin is unfazed.

He said: “We are still quite young and considered the ‘new generation’, so we will just continue to work hard and try to win.

“Winning the men’s doubles champion isn’t easy. This is my first time pairing with Chuqin, and the previous two matches we played were not satisfactory.

“I am thankful to Chuqin for leading me in the doubles, he communicated actively and really shared with me a lot about how to handle points at different junctures of the game as well as at crucial times.”

Kuai laughed when asked about her rise in the sport, adding: “No one knows what the future holds, so now all we can do is to work our hardest and beat our opponents.”

Like her mixed doubles partner Lin, Kuai also had a rewarding 2024 campaign. In January she claimed her first WTT Star Contender singles gold in Doha and then paired with Lin to win four WTT Series titles, including at the China Smash and Asian Table Tennis Championships.

En route to the women’s singles final in Singapore, world No. 15 and wild card Kuai caused several upsets, beating doubles partner and defending champion Wang Manyu in the round of 16, before scalping world No. 4 Chen Xingtong 4-2 (11-6, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 8-11, 12-10) in the semi-finals.

The penultimate day of the Singapore Smash was an all-Chinese triumph at the OCBC Arena. First up were Lin and Wang, who defeated Taiwanese duo Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 13-11) to clinch the men’s doubles title.

The Chinese third seeds exerted their dominance early, storming to an 11-2 victory in the first game before claiming the next 11-4.

Despite holding two game points at 10-8 in the third, Yun-ju and Kao were unable to cope with Wang’s deadly forehand, allowing their rivals to clinch victory at 13-11.

A new men’s singles champion will be crowned on Feb 9, after defending champion Wang was upset 4-3 (8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11, 12-10) in the semi-finals by compatriot Liang Jingkun.

It was a repeat of the 2024 final, but this time it was world No. 4 Liang who triumphed after surviving a scare when leading 3-1. The 28-year-old eventually dispatched Wang to set up a final clash with his younger colleague Lin.

Lin had earlier beaten France’s world No. 14 Alexis Lebrun 4-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-7, 13-11).

In the women’s singles final, Kuai plays world No. 1 Sun Yingsha, who beat doubles partner and third-ranked Wang Yidi 4-3 (11-2, 11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10) in their semi-final.

Sun said: “Yidi is a formidable opponent and for us to battle to the seventh game says a lot about the level of competition.

“It should be an exciting game (against Kuai), I’ll do my best to show everyone the best side of me.”

Kuai added: “Every category is different, in the singles a lot of skill is still required, but I will try my best (against Sun) tomorrow.”

The final match of the day was played in front of a sold-out crowd at the Infinity Arena, where Kuai and Manyu twice came from behind to beat Sun and Yidi 3-2 (9-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8) in the women’s doubles final.

Manyu said: “I feel that Kuai Man and I were partnered together early on, and throughout the course of the tournament, she has played really well. A lot of the plays have been rounded up by her and I’m very happy.”