Discussions
Chinese women's table tennis defeats Japan 3-2 to end six-game losing streak
There was no upset. Once again, it was an "ouch" (China won anyway). China beat Japan to win the title.
The world's strongest team, China, defeated Japan in the women's team final of the BNK Busan Bank 2024 Busan World Championship at the BEXCO Special Stadium Choppy Hall in Busan, South Korea, on April 24, winning 3-2 with a match score of 3-2 to complete a sixth consecutive victory.
China and Japan have already met in four consecutive finals, from Tokyo 2014 to Chengdu 2022, with China winning all four times. Three of them ended 3-0, with only one match dropped in 2018 in Halmstad, where they won 3-1. After an eight-match losing streak from Gothenburg 1993 to Guangzhou 2008, which was snapped in Moscow 2010 by Singapore, which featured homegrown players such as Feng Tianwei, China has won five consecutive titles since Tokyo 2014. With ace Sun Yingxia (World No. 1), the women's singles champion at the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in Durban, Chen Meng (World No. 3), the women's singles gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, and Wang Yidi (World No. 2), ranked ahead of Chen Meng, it was expected that the Chinese would win this time around. However, when the lid was lifted, it was a different story. Japan pressed China harder than ever before. Their attack and mental strength were stronger than China's.
Japan's youngest player, 2008-born Miwa Harimoto (ranked 16th in the world), fell to world No. 1 Sun Yingxia 0-3 in straight games at the No. 1 singles, but top Japanese player Hina Hayata upset world No. 3 Chen Meng at the No. 2 singles. She dropped game one 6-11, but took game two 11-8, game three 11-9, and had net luck on a deuce in game four to win 14-12 and the match 3-1.
At third singles, Miu Hirano (World No. 18) took the first game 11-8 against World No. 2 Wang Yidi. She took the second and third games in straight sets, 13-11 and 12-10, with deuce, to take the match 2-1.
In the fourth singles, Sun Yingxia took on Hayata in a 스포츠토토 top-ranked matchup. With machine-like precision in attack and defense, she won 11-2, 11-4, 11-6 to take the match 3-0.
Harimoto faced Chen Meng in the final five singles match that would decide the championship as the Chinese fans' desperate "Go!" cheers grew louder. In the first game, Chen Meng was rattled by her younger opponent's spirited challenge. He was down 2-5 in the first game. Chen Meng's weak serves were all picked up by the 15-year-old Japanese girl and she took control of the match. She took a 9-3 lead. She went on to win 11-5. A seesaw game ensued in game two, but Harimoto showed her resilience in rallies against Chen Meng. However, after the midway point, Chen Meng extended the lead to 8-5 and 9-6 before closing out the game 11-7.
In the third game, Harimoto's forehand topspin caught Chen Meng by the back of the neck. Chen Meng was down 6-8, but she rallied back to take two points to level at 8-8. It was a hotly contested game. After a timeout, Chen Meng saved game point and won 11-8. Game 4 Chen Meng raced to 3-0 and 4-1 leads, but Harimoto fought back to 4-4 and then broke back to 5-4 with a dazzling topspin to take a 7-5 lead. However, Chen Meng controlled her intensity and won the next five points to take a 10-7 lead. He went on to win 11-7 to seal the title. It was well past 12:00 p.m. when the "Yay!" screams filled Busan BEXCO. Chen Meng was Chen Meng, and China was China.
Like in Singapore in 2011, Japan denied China a sixth consecutive title in 13 years, but in the same way that China's men's team defeated South Korea earlier in the day, China's women's team upset Japan to secure their 23rd title and sixth straight. Sun Yingxia served an ace to take the second point, and Chen Meng came up with the winner.
Japan, who had a golden opportunity for a two-man escape, missed out on their first title since 1971, despite strong performances from Hina Hayata and Miu Hirano. It was a moment that reminded me of what Yoo Seung-min (IOC Member and President of the Korean Table Tennis Association) said after the Korean men's team's loss to China, "I was horrified by the Chinese table tennis team, which never faltered even after playing so well."