World Championships Doha: Defending champion Sun starts title defence in style
DOHA: China’s Sun Yingsha started her women’s singles title defence at the ITTF World Championships Finals Doha 2025 on Saturday with a 4-0 dominat win over Ukraine’s Veronika Matiunina.
Ahead of the World Championships in the Qatari capitail, Sun won the women’s singles title (4-1 vs. Kuai Man) and reached the women’s doubles final with Wang Yidi at the 2025 Singapore Smash (February 2025).
Later at the 2025 ITTF Women’s World Cup (April 2025), she defended her title by defeating Kuai Man 4-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6) in Macao to reinforce her clinical precision.
Tomorrow, she will begin her mixed doubles campaign with Wang Chuqin.
As the world No. 1 and a multi-title holder, she is favored to win both events, though international competitors and teammates like Wang Manyu or Chen Xingtong could challenge her.
Her recent form, including World Cup and Singapore Smash victories, suggests peak performance, and her focus remains on achieving table tennis history in Doha.
Top Seeds Advance in Singles and Doubles
In the women’s singles category, Japan’s Satsuki Odo (World No. 8), Chile’s Paulina Vega (World No. 117), South Korea’s Shin Yubin (World No. 10), and Japan’s Mima Ito (World No. 9) all advanced comfortably with dominant 4-0 wins. Ito defeated New Zealand’s Lisa Geer in straight games.
In the men’s doubles round of 64, Sweden’s Truls Möregårdh and Anton Källberg progressed to the round of 32 after a commanding 3-0 win over France’s Marcos Madrid and Rogelio Castro. Ecuador’s Alberto Mino and Diago Begav beat Vladislav Zakharov and Bakdaulet Akimali 3-1.
India’s Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah swept Slovenia’s Peter Hribar and Deni Kozul 3-0, while Chinese Taipei’s Kao Cheng-Jui and Lin Yun-Ju overcame Italy’s Matteo Muti and Andrea Puppo 3-1.
