Liu Shiwen(R)/Chen Meng of China celebrate during their doubles match against Ishikawa Kasumi/Hirano Miu of Japan in the women's final at the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup in Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Hua Yi)
China win women's final at 2019 Table Tennis World Cup.
TOKYO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China defeated Japan 3-0 in the final of the women's team event at the 2019 Table Tennis Team World Cup here on Sunday.
This year's World Cup is a test event for the Tokyo Olympic Games, adopting the same best-of-five competition system of the Olympics in which the first match is a doubles, followed by four singles matches.
In the doubles, China's Chen Meng and Liu Shiwen beat Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano 11-7, 11-9, 12-10, after catching up for five points in the last game.
"I enjoyed the competition today and the feeling of fighting for my country," Chen said in a post-match press conference.
China's 19-year-old Sun Yingsha defeated Japan's Mima Ito in the first singles match 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10.
"Both my team and I had a lot of confidence in winning the final. So I didn't give up when I fell behind. I was thinking I could still win," Sun said.
Liu Shiwen of China celebrates during her singles match against Hirano Miu of Japan during the women's final at the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup in Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Hua Yi)
Liu secured China's victory in the second singles match, winning over Hirano 11-3, 11-8, 11-5.
"I am very glad to win the championship in the venue that will hold next year's Olympic Games and I will continue to train for the Olympics," Liu said.
"Both sides played at a high level today and our players have been tested, especially the younger players," said Li Sun, coach of the Chinese women's team. ■
