China's Lin, Sun maintain top places in table tennis world rankings

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Lin Shidong and Sun Yingsha continue to sit atop the world rankings updated by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Tuesday.

Despite falling short in the semifinals of the Asian Cup, Lin keeps his grip on the men's singles top position, while seeing his advantage over teammate Wang Chuqin, the Asian Cup winner, reduced to 100 points. Fellow Chinese paddler Liang Jingkun, beaten finalist at the Asian Cup, sits third in the rankings.

Men's paddlers ranking fourth to 10th are Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan, Brazil's Hugo Calderano, France's Felix Lebrun, Truls Moregard of Sweden, Germany's Patrick Franziska and Qiu Dang, and Alexis Lebrun of France.

The women's top 10 players remain unchanged, with Sun leading a Chinese quartet in the top four, along with Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong.

The fifth-10th ranked female paddlers are Hina Hayata and Miwa Harimoto, both of Japan, China's Kuai Man, Japan's Satsuki Odo and Mima Ito, and Shin Yu-bin of South Korea.

China's Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha and Lin Shidong/Kuai Man rank top two in mixed doubles. France's Lebrun brothers, Alexis and Felix, take up the men's doubles top position, while Satsuki Odo and Sakura Yokoi of Japan lead the women's doubles rankings. ■