In today’s final, Fan Chentung defeated his doubles partner Wang Zhuqing 4:2 in sets and defended his title. Overall, the 26-year-old won his eighth world gold and the second in Durban, where he won the doubles with Wang Zhuqing. A year ago in Houston, it was in the men’s doubles that Sweden’s Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals this year, disrupted China’s dominance at the WC.
Twenty-two-year-old Sun Jing-sha won the singles at the world championship for the first time. In the final, she defeated compatriot Chen Meng 4:2, to whom she avenged her defeat in the match for gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Sun Jing-sha will also take home the two most valuable metals from the Republic of South Africa, together with Wang Zhuqing she won the mixed doubles. Even Chen Meng, who won the women’s doubles alongside Wang Yi-ti, was not left without gold.
In the women’s doubles, Hana Matelová was close to a medal. Together with her Slovakian teammate Barbora Balážová, she was only one set away from advancing to the top four in the quarterfinals. Matelová was also the only Czech representative in Durban to win a singles match.
The World Cup was held in South Africa for the first time in history, the first time on the African continent since 1939, when it was hosted by Egypt. Next year in February, the WC will be played in Busan, Korea.
| World Singles Table Tennis Championship in Durban (South Africa): |
|---|
| Men: |
| Singles – Final: |
| Fan Chentung – Wang Zhuqin (both China) 4:2 (-8, 9, 7, 10, -11, 3). |
| Doubles – Final: |
| Fan Chen-tung, Wang Chu-chin (China) – Chang U-chin, Lim Chong-hun (Korea) 3:0 (11, 6, 5). |
| Women: |
| Singles – Final: |
| Sun Jingsha – Chen Meng (both China) 4:2 (-5, 8, 7, 7, -7, 6). |
| Doubles – Final: |
| Chen Meng, Wang Yi-ti (China) – Chon Chi-hee, Sin Ju-pin (Korea) 3:0 (8, 7, 10). |