ITTF World Cup: Wang beats Harimoto in comeback thriller

MACAO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Wang Manyu staged an incredible comeback to defeat Japan's Miwa Harimoto 4-3 at the ITTF Men's and Women's World Cup Macao 2025 on Thursday, adding excitement to the first-day knockout stage.

World No. 2 Wang rallied from a 1-3 deficit, winning three consecutive sets to end the Macao World Cup journey of 16-year-old Harimoto. In the deciding game, Wang saw her first match point saved, and after a tense 10-10 tie, won two straight points to clinch the victory.

"My form is better than in the group stage after today's match. I'll give it my all for the matches ahead and fight for every point," Wang said in the mixed zone afterward.

On the men's side, world No. 2 Wang Chuqin won against Kanak Jha of the United States 4-1, going to face Germany's Benedikt Duda, who came through a seven-game match.

In the morning matches, world No. 1 Lin Shidong faced a tough battle against Swedish player Anton Kallberg, ultimately winning 4-3 after seven games (13-11, 11-5, 12-14, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8).

"At 8-all in the deciding game, I was focused on taking the initiative on my serve. In particular, at the 9-8 point, I had a lot of determination," Lin said.

Defending women's champion Sun Yingsha of China cruised to a dominant straight-game victory over Austria's Sofia Polcanova, posting scores of 11-3, 11-4, 15-13, and 11-9. She will meet with Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei, who edged out Japan's Hina Hayata in a thrilling Round of 16 clash.

Team China's Liang Jingkun, Chen Xingtong, and Kuai Man also moved to the quarterfinal on Friday. ■