WTT Finals Hong Kong: Sun Yingsha hit by injury, loses mixed doubles final with Wang Chuqin

Sun Yingsha, the top women’s player in table tennis, had to withdraw in the middle of a match for the first time in her career as she bowed out of the singles semi-finals of the WTT Finals Hong Kong on Saturday with an apparent left ankle injury.\nA double heartbreak was to follow, after Sun joined Olympic and world champion partner Wang Chuqin in the mixed doubles final, where they were swept aside – 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 – by South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin at the Hong Kong Coliseum.\nIt was a career-first win for the world No 2 Korean pair over the Chinese duo.\n“I would like to thank each and every athlete that played until the end [despite carrying an injury],” Lim said, referring to Sun’s injury. “Every player including Wang and Sun played very well today, so thank you for their performance today.”\nShin added: “It’s very important to have good conditions, so I hope every athlete plays without injuries and plays happily.”\n\nIn the first match of the evening session, Sun, who has been top of the world rankings for 178 consecutive weeks coming into the contest, decided to leave the court after five games had been completed, with Kuai Man advancing to Sunday’s final with a 4-2 win.\nWorld No 4 Kuai was probably the first to sense something was up in the air, even before Sun, who is ranked three places above, requested her first medical timeout.\n“In the third game, when Sun was leading 9-5, I could sense that she didn’t feel so good,” Kuai said after the match. “But I don’t know the details about her injury; I know the same information as everyone else.”\nAfter Kuai stole the third game with a 7-1 run, Sun requested another medical timeout.\nUpon returning to the table, world No 1 Sun needed ice packs and another medical timeout in the subsequent games before finally retiring.\nThe last time Sun needed a medical timeout was in February 2023, though she still managed to beat Chen Xintong 3-0 in a national team selection tournament for the Durban World Championships.\nKuai will now meet reigning champion Wang Manyu, who thrashed compatriot Chen Yi 4-0 in the second semi-final.\n\nIn the men’s event earlier, Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan is one win away from reaching his fourth final at the year-end tournament after edging past Felix Lebrun in a seven-game thriller.\nHarimoto was 3-1 up but had to wait until the decider to beat the Frenchman for the first time in five career meetings, sealing a 12-14, 11-8, 12-10, 11-3, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9 win in 52 minutes.\nWorld No 5 Harimoto will next fancy his chances against his semi-final opponent on Sunday, Lin Shidong, given his 5-1 track record.\n“There’s only the winner’s trophy in my eyes after finishing second three times,” said the 22-year-old from Sendai. “A runner-up finish was fine but I’m not satisfied.\n“The only result I can be satisfied with is the championship. This is my fifth attempt, and I must win this time.”\nReigning three-time champion Wang Chuqin will face Truls Moregard in the other semi-final. The final will also be held on Sunday, at 8.30pm.\n