The finals of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Men’s and Women’s World Cup Macao 2024 were held last night at the Galaxy Arena in Cotai, with Women’s World Number 1 Sun Yingsha winning gold in the women’s final, while fellow compatriot and Men’s World Number 4 Ma Long was crowned winner in the men’s final.
The week-long ITTF- sanctioned event presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) started last Monday at Galaxy Arena in Cotai. The arena for last night’s final was filled to the rafters with fans cheering their favourite paddlers’ on as they competed for the Evans and Hammarlund Cup and a share of a US$1 million prize pool.
The event began with the women’s singles final, where 23-year-old Sun, who won a gold in the Women’s Team event and an individual silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, squared off against World number 2 Wang Manyu, who started the game off strongly. Sun would catch up however, winning the final 4-3, with their scores being 8-11, 5-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5 and 11-9.
Wang took home the silver medal, while Japan’s Miwa Harimoto shared the bronze podium with China’s Chen Meng. Sun’s latest victory, according to the ITTF website, now adds to wins at the ITTF World Championships, ITTF World Team Championships, ITTF Mixed Team World Cup and the WTT Women’s Finals.
Moreover, in the men’s singles final, five-time Olympic gold medallist Ma Long played Lin Gaoyuan, with the bout ending with Lin, who was initially in the lead, taking home the silver medal. Their scores were 9-11, 9-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 and 11-8. Meanwhile, World number 1 Wang Chuqin and Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto both won bronze medals.
Ma’s latest victory adds to his list of singles titles, which the ITTF website notes as including two Olympic Gold medals (2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo), three World Championships in men’s singles (2015, 2017 and 2019), three Men’s World Cups (2015 and 2012).
In an interview with Xinhua, Ma said: “I never expected to win the title, as I had said before, the semifinals had been a success for me. I think everyone can feel how relaxed I was during the play.”
Sun added that both she and Wang did their best. “For me, it was an extraordinary match, and a precious experience in my career”, the 23-year-old said.
World number 1 Sun Yingsha (in blue) competes against Wang Manyu at yesterday’s finals at the Galaxy Arena in Cotai. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
Gold medallists Ma Long (left) and Sun Yingsha pose with their trophies after yesterday’s final.
World number 4 Ma Long emerges victorious after yesterday’s final match against Lin Gaoyuan
