World number one Chen Meng beat Chinese compatriot Sun Yingsha 11-13 11-6 11-9 11-6 11-8 to win her maiden ITTF Women's World Cup title in Weihai on Tuesday as international table tennis returned from an eight-month hiatus due to COVID-19.
Chen's victory at the bio-secure Weihai Nanhai Olympic Center made her the first winner of the ITTF's #RESTART series and also took her tally of senior singles titles to 19.
“Last month, I also won a title in the same venue and now this World Cup is a high point for me,” the 26-year-old Chen said, referring to her China National Championships win.
“This will help my confidence going into the next tournament and I hope that at the ITTF Finals in Zhengzhou I can continue my good form and win another title.”
Japan's Mima Ito took the bronze medal after beating Han Ying of Germany in straight games.
Weihai will host a men's World Cup tournament between Nov. 13-15 with 21 players, including reigning world and Olympic champion Ma Long and top-ranked Fan Zhendong set to compete.
The third and final event of the #RESTART series will be the ITTF Finals between Nov. 19-22 in Zhengzhou.
The women's and men's World Cup events were originally set to take place in Bangkok, Thailand and then Duesseldorf, Germany before the ITTF moved them to China.
