Beijing:Taiwan's Lin Yun-ju secured a second-place finish in the men's singles at the World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash, held on Sunday. Lin faced off against Japan's world No. 1, Sora Matsushima, in a closely contested final.
According to Focus Taiwan, Lin, currently ranked sixth globally, initially struggled, losing the first two games. However, he managed to claim a 3-2 lead before Matsushima rallied to win the match 4-3. The final, which took place at Shougang Park in Beijing, concluded with game scores of 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 9-11.
In previous encounters, Lin held a 6-1 career record against Matsushima, although the Japanese player had bested him in their recent match at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cup semifinals. During the China Smash final, Matsushima secured the first two games before Lin adapted his strategy, utilizing his backhand flick to win three consecutive games. Nevertheless, Matsushima forced a decisive seventh game, where Lin was unable to recover from a 6-0 deficit.
This marks Lin's second runner-up finish at a WTT Smash event this year, following a similar outcome at the Singapore Smash in February. Lin's performance at previous China Smash events included an opening-round elimination in 2024 and a round of 32 finish last year.
Additionally, Lin and his partner Cheng I-ching finished as runners-up in the mixed doubles on Friday. They faced the world No. 1 pair, Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin from South Korea, losing 3-2 with scores of 14-12, 9-11, 18-16, 11-13, 8-11. This was their second five-game defeat to the Korean pair within three weeks, having also lost in the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 25.
The China Smash was the last of four WTT Smash events in 2026, following tournaments held in Singapore, the United States, and Europe.
