In what has become a routine at international tournaments, China expectedly captured both the men's and women's title at the Bosideng Multiglory ITTF World Cup in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province, yesterday.
In a showdown between the current world No. 1 and former top women's player, newly-crowned Olympic champion Zhang Yining proved she is the true champion, beating Wang Nan 4-2 in the singles final.
It was the first time that Zhang had beaten Wang head to head in a big event, winning 15-13, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8.
The men's title match also went to six games, with China's Ma Lin, the defending champion, beating Kalinikos Kreanga of Greece, who stunned the world champion Werner Schlager of Austria in the quarterfinals, 4-2. (5-11, 14-12, 11-3, 14-12, 11-9, 12-10).
Zhang had some trouble in the opening game as the Sydney Olympic single's winner Wang raced ahead. However, she rallied to come back, setting the tone for the whole match.
Zhang, 23, said: "I was a little bit nervous at first, but later I focused more on my game, not her. It is the best match I've played since the Athens Olympics as we have all lacked practice since then."
"Wang is still an excellent player. She was my gold-medal partner (in doubles) in Athens. I hope I can keep winning."
The 26-year-old Wang admitted that she wasted a few opportunities but did her best. "I performed my best. What I felt disappointed about is that I should have taken the first game."
Though she has been replaced by Zhang as the world No. 1, Wang said it was an important match for both of them. "It's important for us. For Zhang, she needs to prove herself after her Athens' glory. For me, it's a confidence booster which can help me better in the other big events."
In the third-place match, Tie Yana of Hong Kong, China, beat Li Jia Wei of Singapore 4-1 (11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10).
All the women's titles at the eight editions of the World Cup have been won by Chinese, with Wang and Zhang winning three titles each. The other two have gone to all-time great Deng Yaping and Li Ju.
With his victory in the final, Ma became the first man in history to collect three titles since the first World Cup was held in Hong Kong in 1980.
Despite a slow start in the first game, Ma, who was unbeaten against Kreanga in their previous eight encounters,  gradually found his rhythm, and the lead kept changing hands. In the sixth game, Ma was 7-10 behind but overcame the deficit by forcing Kreanga into making mistakes.
Ma admitted he had a slow start and lower expectation from the in-form Kreanga, the losing finalist at last year's World Cup. "I was stunned by Kreanga's performance at first. Fortunately I found my rhythm and switched my strategy," the world No. 2 said.
Ma unexpectedly lost to Swede Jan-Ove Waldner at the Athens Olympics. He said: "I told myself on court never to forget that shameful loss in Athens and never repeat it. This victory is a big morale booster for me."
In the third place match, China's Wang Hao got the better of Joo Se-hyuk of South Korea 4-3 (11-7, 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 5-11, 11-8).