(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
The China Smash 2025 Presented by Beijing Shijingshan Culture & Tourism Group finished on Sunday. For Men’s Singles, both the Semifinals and Finals were played on this final day, and fans were treated to a great finish of one of the largest events of the year.
In the early Semifinal, Felix Lebrun (No. 7) surprise World No. 2 Lin Shidong. Lebrun came out on fire, winning the first game easily 11-5. Shidong then found his stride, winning the next two games easily at 7 and 6. The fourth game was a tight battle, with Shidong reaching 8 first, but then Lebrun won four of the next five points to win the game and tie the match. From there, it was all Felix Lebrun, dominating the final two games and earning his place in the Final. In the other half of the draw, World No. 1 Wang Chuqin faced World No. 9 Xiang Peng and it was Peng that struck first winning the first two games. The two then traded the next two games, with Peng up 3-1, but Chuqin finished strong winning the final three games and taking the match 4-3.
The two Semifinal matches were thrilling. The Final lacked the same intensity or drama. Wang Chuqin won the first game 11-7, dominated the next two games at 2 and 5, and then finished off the match with an 11-7 win. For Chuqin, he entered the tournament just a few points ahead of Lin Shidong and at risk of losing the No. 1 Ranking. He not only rose to the occasion, but he solidified his position with an emphatic 3-part exclamation. Not only did Chuqin win the Men’s Singles title, he also teamed with Lin Shidong to win Men’s Doubles, and teamed with Sun Yingsha to win Mixed Doubles. That’s three titles on one of the biggest stages in international table tennis.
The Women’s Singles Final was also decided on Sunday, and it included a small upset. That is, World No. 1 Sun Yingsha and World No. 2 Wang Manyu have faced each other many times with Sun Yingsha winning about two thirds of the time (26 wins in 38 meetings). Today it was the underdog that was victorious, with Wang Manyu winning 4-2. Manyu also won Women’s Doubles, teamed with Kuai Man.
The tour next turns its sights to Europe where a WTT Champions event will be held in Montpellier, France at the end of the month, and a second Champions event will be held in Frankfurt, Germany in the first week of November. The WTT Finals will be in Hong Kong in December, and the WTT Champions will be in Doha in January
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