Zhu Yuling won an all-Chinese final at the women's table tennis World Cup on Sunday in Markham, Canada, beating Liu Shiwen in seven sets.
Zhu, who had swept Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei 4-0 in the semifinals, overcame early setbacks en route to winning 11-13, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10.
Liu built a quick 2-0 lead, but let Zhu take the following two sets. The former world No.1 regained the lead before Zhu made it even again in the sixth set.
In the deciding set, both players were fired up and the score went up to 10-10. A calm Zhu then nailed two points for the World Cup trophy, which was won by Japanese Miu Hirano in the absence of Chinese players in 2016.
Liu beat Hirano, also Asian champion, in the semifinals.
"I am glad to win the World Cup as it was my fifth shot at a major title. I am looking forward to building on this experience to take on more challenges ahead," said Zhu.
Chinese national team coach Li Xun said the final was the result of hard work ahead of the match.
"The final was a result of careful preparation, so we left no chances to our rivals in the semifinals," said Li, also mentor of former Olympic champions Wang Nan, Zhang Yining and Li Xiaoxia.
