On the evening of May 10, Beijing time, the men’s team final of the 58th World Table Tennis Championships in London concluded with China defeating Japan 3-0, securing their 12th consecutive men’s team title.
This marked the first time in a decade that the two teams faced off in a World Team Championships final since the 2016 Kuala Lumpur edition.
The first match featured Liang Jingkun against Tomokazu Harimoto. In the early stages, Harimoto used his fast play near the table to take control, winning the first two sets 11-8 and 11-4. A turning point came in the third set when Liang, trailing 5-7, scored three straight points and eventually won 11-9. He then saved a match point in the fourth set to level the score at 13-11. In the decisive fifth set, Harimoto took an 8-3 lead, but Liang produced an incredible run of 8 consecutive points to win 11-8, giving China the first point.
Next, Wang Chuqin faced Sora Matsushima. The two had met seven times internationally, with Wang leading 5-2. Their most recent encounter was at the Macau World Cup earlier this year, where Wang won 4-3. This match ended 3-1 in Wang’s favor. Matsushima won the first set 11-8, but Wang leveled the match with a hard-fought 12-10 win in the second set after leading 10-8. From there, Wang took control, winning the next two sets 11-2 and 11-9.
The third match was between Lin Shidong and Shunsuke Togami. They had played seven times before, with Lin leading 5-2, though Togami had won their most recent meeting 4-3 at the Asian Cup. Lin won the first two sets 11-9 and 11-5, then dropped the third 11-7 before holding his nerve to take the fourth set 11-9, sealing the match.
With a 3-0 overall victory, China claimed the Swaythling Cup for the 24th time in history and achieved an unprecedented 12 consecutive titles, once again rewriting the record books of the World Table Tennis Championships.
