Big Surprise! 19-year-old Chinese Table Tennis Player Defeats Tomokazu Harimoto 4-2 to Win Championship, Guai Man Loses Gold with a Shutout
A major surprise from the Mascot table tennis competition! The 19-year-old Chinese table tennis player Chen Yuanyu defeated Tomokazu Harimoto and won the gold medal, while world champion Guai Man suffered a 0-4 defeat at the hands of her teammate, missing out on the gold.
This is the result of the WTT table tennis regular challenge singles final. The Chinese team won both the men's and women's singles titles, with the men's singles title being particularly hard-won and incredibly surprising. This is Chen Yuanyu's first regular challenge championship!
After the men's singles semi-finals were announced, only Chen Yuanyu was left among the young Chinese players. It was expected that he would reach the final, but it was unexpected that he could defeat the top-ranked Tomokazu Harimoto and create his own miracle.
In the match against Tomokazu Harimoto, with a bold and aggressive attitude, Chen Yuanyu remained true to himself and resolutely executed his pre-set tactics. He lost the first game 8-11, then turned it around with two 11-7 victories. After being tied by Tomokazu Harimoto at 3-11, Chen Yuanyu did not let the difficulties defeat him, but instead firmly believed in himself and fought point by point against Tomokazu Harimoto.
In the fifth game, starting from the same line, Chen Yuanyu was not discouraged by the big score difference in the fourth game, and blasted out an 11-4 to take the lead again. In the sixth game, in the battle of wits and courage, Chen Yuanyu seized the key opportunity and locked in the victory with a 12-10, winning the championship.
Before the match, the list of Chinese players for the Asian Cup was announced, and Chen Yuanyu's name was prominently listed. Looking at this battle against Tomokazu Harimoto, I would like to say to this young player, "He deserves the Asian Cup qualification!"
Compared to the surprising victory in the men's singles, the women's singles final was less thrilling because it was an internal battle within the Chinese team. World champion Guai Man faced off against the Youth World Championships champion Shi Xunyao. After four rounds of competition, Guai Man lost 0-4 to her teammate and missed out on the gold.
At the previous star challenge, Guai Man won her first singles championship. At this regular challenge, she made it to the final again. Judging from her form, Guai Man had a higher chance of winning the championship. However, in front of the Chinese team players, no one can underestimate the heart of pursuing the championship. Shi Xunyao proved with her strength that she deserved the Asian Cup spot.
Like Chen Yuanyu, Shi Xunyao was also on the list of Asian Cup players announced before the match, and the result of the match made this qualification more convincing.
It is worth mentioning that in the list of Asian Cup players announced by the Chinese team, there are no longer Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, and Ma Long who have withdrawn from the world rankings. Overall, in addition to Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, and Chen Xintong, Chen Yuanyu, Huang Youzheng, Shi Xun, Guai Man, and Shi Xunyao are all new faces!