Hou, Sun win Chinese table tennis championships

It was the first such win for the 18-year-old Sun at the national competition level.

Accomplished youth player Sun Yingsha was the champion at both the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and the 2017 World Junior Championships. However her senior record has remained no less impressive, with Sun winning the first senior tournament she participated in, the 2017 Japan Open. She also has seven doubles titles to her name.

The 24-year-old Zhu, who Sun defeated, has won five ITTF World Tour titles, reaching the world No 1 ranking in December 2017, and claimed five doubles titles as well.

Sun, playing on behalf of the Hebei team, proved more proactive while Zhu Yuling appeared more conservative and inflexible.

In the first game, the two sides were closely matched, but Sun managed to bag four points in a row to win. With one point in hand, Sun played more freely in the second game and eased to win it 11-4.

Sun faced a more aggressive Zhu in the third game and the scores were once leveled at 8-8 before Sun steadied herself to claw three points in a row. In the fourth game, Sun dominated throughout to win the title.