Double delight for Chinese champions

Sun earns last-gasp win against Ito to pocket $137k, while veteran Xu overwhelms Lin

Sun Yingsha (left) saved two match points against fellow 19-year-old Mima Ito but Xu Xin enjoyed a comprehensive win over Taiwanese 18-year-old Lin Yun-ju.
Sun Yingsha (left) saved two match points against fellow 19-year-old Mima Ito but Xu Xin enjoyed a comprehensive win over Taiwanese 18-year-old Lin Yun-ju. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Sun Yingsha saved two match points against fellow 19-year-old Mima Ito but Xu Xin (above) enjoyed a comprehensive win over Taiwanese 18-year-old Lin Yun-ju.
Sun Yingsha saved two match points against fellow 19-year-old Mima Ito but Xu Xin (above) enjoyed a comprehensive win over Taiwanese 18-year-old Lin Yun-ju. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

The future of women's table tennis looks to be in good hands, as two precocious 19-year-olds served up a final of high quality and entertainment value at last night's Seamaster T2 Diamond Singapore.

After a see-saw battle, it was China's world No. 3 Sun Yingsha who emerged victorious by a nose against Japan's world No. 7 Mima Ito, winning 4-3 (11-7, 11-3, 6-11, 7-11, 5-3, 3-5, 5-4).

Ito had shown great determination to fight back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to level the scores, delighting the many Japanese fans in the 1,900-strong crowd at Our Tampines Hub.

With the Fast5 format, a feature of the T2 event introduced to speed up the game if there is no winner after 24 minutes, players alternate serves, and the first to reach five points wins.

In the final game, with the first seven points on serve, Ito led 4-3 and had two match points as another quirk of the competition meant there are no deuces.

Sun managed to hold serve to make it 4-4, which meant a winner-takes-all, US$100,000 (S$136,500) final point on Ito's serve. She could not take advantage even after Sun's return popped up, as Ito's shot flashed just wide.

Sun, who earlier this month had bounced back from two games down and then 10-7 down in the final game to beat Ito 3-2 and help China win the ITTF Team World Cup, said: "I think that helped a lot. At 3-4 and 4-4, there were flashbacks and I thought to myself not to hesitate because that would hand the opponent the advantage.

"This was a very intense final that was not decided until the last possible point of the last game. I think we were both nervous then, I did not return too well, but she may have been too anxious to go for the win.

"The prize money is not as important for me now as the value of playing and learning from such high-level competitors. Ito is one such good player whom I can learn from and improve my game."

Ito, who pocketed US$50,000 but was disappointed, said: "I was not in my best condition. I was tired and struggled with Singapore's humidity. I have lost my last few matches against Sun but I'm sure we will play each other more times in the future and I will try my best to win the next time we meet."

While the women's game looks set for a renewal, China's world No. 2 male paddler Xu Xin was in no hurry to hand over the mantle as the 29-year-old routed Taiwanese teenager Lin Yun-ju 4-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6) in the men's final.

Xu said: "I did think about my post-final speech today. If I finished second, I wanted to say I was going to use the US$50,000 for milk powder and baby clothes. But now that I have won US$100,000, I guess I have to throw in two bags for my wife too."

There was some consolation for 18-year-old Lin. Besides the prize money, he also claimed the T2 Diamond overall men's champion following his win at the Malaysia stop, while China's world No. 5 Wang Manyu took the women's gong.

Lin said: "I felt I played quite well in Singapore, but this defeat shows I'm not at that level yet and I still have much to learn from top players like Xu Xin, who never once let me settle down in tonight's match."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 25, 2019, with the headline Double delight for Chinese champions. Subscribe