China's second-seeded table tennis star Wang Chuqin delivered a masterclass in resilience at the ITTF World Championships in Doha, overcoming a two-game deficit to defeat France's Simon Gauzy 4-2 on Thursday. The dramatic victory secures his place in the men's singles quarterfinals and keeps China's gold medal hopes alive.
Gauzy, who eliminated Wang's compatriot Lin Gaoyuan earlier in the tournament, appeared poised for another upset after claiming the first two games 11-9. "I was too nervous at the beginning," Wang admitted post-match. "I let my opponent control the rhythm."
The turning point came when Wang switched to a short-sleeved jersey before the third game, sparking a remarkable transformation. The world No. 2 dominated the next four games with improved focus and aggression, later explaining: "Putting on the short-sleeved jersey pulled me out of the match for a moment. I stopped thinking about the result and just played."
While Wang progressed, China suffered a setback in men's doubles as third seeds Lin Gaoyuan and Lin Shidong fell to sixth-seeded Kao Cheng-Jui and Lin Yun-Ju of the Chinese Taipei team. The 3-1 defeat marks one of the few Chinese losses in the tournament.
On the women's side, top seed Sun Yingsha survived a tense battle against South Korea's Shin Yu-bin, eventually prevailing 4-2. Meanwhile, the mixed doubles pair of Wang and Sun demonstrated clutch performance, recovering from an early game loss to defeat Japan's Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto 3-1.
The championships continue to highlight Asia's table tennis dominance, with Chinese athletes accounting for six of the eight men's singles quarterfinal spots. Young phenom Lin Shidong kept China's flag flying high with a dominant 4-0 victory over Sweden's Anton Kallberg, setting up an all-Chinese quarterfinal against Liang Jingkun.
