by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Notably in the fifth game, honours being equal, Sun Yingsha established a 7-3 lead, Wang Manyu won the next three points. Sun Yingsha called “Time Out”; the decision was to work in favour of Wang Manyu. Sun Yingsha won just one more point; the momentum had swung in favour of her adversary,

Immediately, Sun Yingsha won the sixth game but when the players changed ends in the seventh she trailed by one point at 5-4; she won the next two points, Wang Manyu called “Time Out”. At 10-9 and 11-10 Sun Yingsha held match point, at 12-11 Wang Manyu had the opportunity seal victory before Sun Yingsha secured the next three points the win the game, match and title.

“We both played our best level today, we know each other very well and actually I wasn’t confident in the seventh game because she’s such a tough opponent to beat. She’s always able to withstand the pressure to come back and this is something that I’m still lacking in; when I was 11-12 down in the decider, I was still determined to fight back and win this title. It is my first World Junior Championships and she has won twice already, so I came into the final with the mind-set to challenge her.” Sun Yingsha

Defeat in the final for Wang Manyu who made her first appearance in the event in 2013 in Rabat, before in both Shanghai the following year and in 2015 in La Roche sur Yon winning the title.