The main event of the day came in the Women’s Championship Division as China and Japan went head-to-head at the final hurdle of the title race.
Seeded first for the 2018 competition and aiming to defending their crown, understandably the China squad entered the tie as favourites for the win but in a breathtaking start to the match it was Japan who struck first as Liu Shiwen suffered a surprise five games defeat at the hands of Mima Ito (9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 10-12).
Looking for a quick response China neutralised the score deficit through Ding Ning, who saw off Miu Hirano without dropping a game (11-6, 12-10, 13-11) and not long after the advantage was in China’s court with Zhu Yuling proving too strong for Kasumi Ishikawa (11-4, 11-7, 11-8). Avenging her early defeat, Liu Shiwen put in a strong showing against Miu Hirano (11-6, 11-6, 12-10) to see China lift the trophy for a fourth consecutive occasion.
Information from ITTF
