Hongkongers aim to challenge mainland China table tennis dominance after WTT win
Wong Chun-ting and Baldwin Chan eye bigger prizes after Contender final triumph in Croatia
Hong Kong table tennis duo Wong Chun-ting and Baldwin Chan Ho-wah have said the city’s players have the ability to beat their usually dominant mainland Chinese counterparts after their maiden men’s doubles triumph in Croatia on Sunday.
Facing mainlanders Huang Youzheng and Xue Fei in the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender final in Zagreb, Wong and Chan found themselves one point from defeat before winning three straight points to earn their first title since teaming up last October.
The duo, ranked fourth, had also defeated newly crowned world champions and top seeds Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka in back-to-back tournaments – first in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, then in Zagreb.
“We beat some top pairs along the way, so the wins were a confidence booster,” Wong, 33, said. “It’s only the first year for Chan and me, so I hope there are more breakthroughs to come.
“We’re satisfied with the results, but this is only one of the WTT tour legs, so I hope we can achieve the same in the bigger tournaments.”
Teammate Chan, 20, said the win in Croatia was recognition of their training efforts.