Second-seeded Wang Chuqin of China pulled off a jaw-dropping comeback at the ITTF World Championships in Doha, rallying from two games down to defeat France's Simon Gauzy 4-2! 🏓 After swapping his jersey mid-match, the Chinese star flipped the script, winning four straight games to secure his quarterfinal spot. 💪
"I stopped overthinking and just played," Wang admitted after the match, crediting his short-sleeve switch for calming his nerves. Gauzy, who earlier knocked out Wang's compatriot Lin Gaoyuan, called his own performance "a 9/10" but couldn't handle Wang's revived power.
China's rising stars shone bright: 20-year-old Lin Shidong swept Sweden's Anton Kallberg 4-0, while Sun Yingsha survived a tense battle against South Korea's Shin Yu-bin. But there was drama in doubles—third seeds Lin Gaoyuan and Lin Shidong fell to Chinese Taipei's Kao Cheng-Jui and Lin Yun-Ju in a fiery quarterfinal clash. 🇨🇳⚡
Wang and Sun later redeemed the day, overcoming Japan's Matsushima/Harimoto in mixed doubles. With quarterfinals heating up, all eyes are on China's table tennis titans! 👀
Reference(s):
Wang Chuqin fights into last eight at Table Tennis World Championships
cgtn.com