by Ian Marshall, Editor

Furthermore, for both players, three was the number.

Men’s Singles

…………At the semi-final stage Xu Xin, the no.3 seed, came within a hair’s breadth of defeat; he beat Germany’s Patrick Franziska, the no.15 seed, by the very narrowest of seven game margins (11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10).

…………In the counterpart semi-final, 19 year old qualifier, Wang Chuqin beat Chinese national team colleague, Ma Long, the no. 5 seed, the reigning Olympic and World champion (11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8).

…………At the final hurdle Xu Xin asserted his authority; he overcame Wang Chuqin in straight games (11-6, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8).

…………A third successive ITTF World Tour men’s singles title for Xu Xin, previously he had won in Japan and Korea Republic.

…………Also, Xu Xin made it consecutive wins in Geelong; last year he beat colleague Liu Dingshuo in the final.

…………Overall, for Xu Xin it was his 17th ITTF World Tour men’s singles title in 28 finals.

Women’s Singles

…………Required to qualify, in the final Sun Yingsha beat colleague Ding Ning, the no.3 seed and reigning Olympic champion (11-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9).

…………Sun Yingsha holds a unique record, she has now won three ITTF World Tour women’s singles titles, previously succeeding in 2017 and earlier this year in Japan. On each occasion she was required to compete in the qualification tournament; she stands alone.

…………Success for Sun Yingsha meant she reversed the decision of 2017 in Chengdu when losing to Ding Ning in the final. On that occasion she was also a qualifier.