Chen Meng regains World No 1 ranking, after clinching Women's Singles title at WTT Singapore Smash!

(China's World No 1, Chen Meng. Photo Credit : Team Nila Content Producer, Lim Sau Boon)

By Pearlyn Koh

The final day of the prestigious $2.7 million WTT Singapore Smash saw an all-China Finals in both the Men’s and Women’s Singles events.

Fans were treated to an exciting night of Table Tennis action on Sunday (20 March), at the OCBC Arena as the world’s top 2 male and female players competed for the ultimate prize at the first-ever WTT Singapore Smash! The winner of the Men’s and Women’s Singles events will walk away with an attractive USD $100,000 prize money, as well as 2,000 ITTF World Ranking points!

Chen Meng (Pink) vs Wang Manyu. Photo Credit : WTT

First match to come to play at the OCBC Arena on Sunday (20 March) evening was the Women’s Singles Final, between Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, who are the respective world number 2 and 4 players currently. This is the duo’s 18th career meeting, with 28-year-old Chen Meng winning on 12 of the 17 occasions. Their last encounter was during the Semi-finals of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston. Back then, it was 23-year-old Manyu who claimed the victory 4-3, before eventually taking the Women’s Singles title!

Manyu would have wanted to recreate her stunning victory against Tokyo Olympic Women’s Singles gold medallist Chen Meng yet again in the Lion City. But this time, it was the older Chen Meng who claimed the title after a close-fought match. The world number 2 player edged out her teammate and opponent 4-3 (11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 11-8), to become the first ever WTT Singapore Smash Women’s Singles Champion!

(China's Wang Manyu. Photo Credit : WTT)

In a showdown between the Olympic gold medallist versus the world champion, both players knew a tough battle was ahead of them. The Women’s Singles Final saw both players careful yet quick to enter their game, knowing they could not afford to lose any moment of focus. While it was Chen Meng who took the first game 11-9, Manyu quickly came back in Game 2 by slowing down her rhythm of the game, to take the second game 11-8!

With 1 game apiece, scores were once again closely tied at 3-3, before the 23-year-old Manyu scored 3 consecutive points, to finally take the lead, 6-3! But her lead did not last long, as the world number 2 quickly caught back, leveling the score all the way till 8-8. Following 2 quick backhand shots by Chen Meng, she managed to take the game point 10-8 in the third game, before sealing it off 11-9!

(China's Chen Meng. Photo Credit : WTT)

Now with a 2-1 lead, the 28-year-old Chen Meng was slightly more confident - but she still knew she had to keep herself composed and clear-minded. In Game 4, both players were tied at 5 points each. But Manyu soon then took 2 straight points, to lead for her first time in Game 3, 7-5! Unfortunately, her lead could not last long as her 28-year-old opponent became more deliberate in slowing down the rhythm of her game, to cause some discomfort to the fast-paced Manyu. Eventually, it was still Chen Meng who took Game 3, 11-8!

Despite trailing 3-1, Manyu was not ready to give up easily without a fight. She was fighting to keep her gold medal hopes alive, by reducing her unforced errors and adapting to the change in rhythm of Chen Meng’s new strategy. Fortunately for Manyu, her determination and perseverance paid off as she managed to cause her opponent to panic and rush to attack, often resulting in mistakes. Slowly and steadily, Manyu took point after point, as she clawed back 2 games to take Games 5 and 6, 11-6 and 11-9 respectively!

Wang Manyu (Red) vs Chen Meng. Photo Credit : WTT

Down to the deciding game, Chen Meng displayed her dominance as she did not give her younger opponent any chance to take the lead at all. Chen Meng was leading all the way till 9-4, before Manyu fought back to 9-8! But the calm and determined Chen Meng was unfazed, as she proceeded to take 2 consecutive points to claim Game 7 11-8, taking the eventual win 4-3 to become the first ever WTT Singapore Smash Women’s Singles Champion! And with her win, Chen Meng rises up to become the world number 1 player yet again!

 “I had lost to Manyu in our past few encounters, so I did not think too much before the Finals tonight. I just wanted to do my best and play up to my usual standard. Nonetheless, I am still very happy with my win in Singapore and am glad to become the world number 1 again!”

Pearlyn Koh has been playing Table Tennis competitively for 9 years. She’s currently a member of the National Team and had represented Singapore at several major tournaments, including the 2018 Asian Games and World Table Tennis Championships. In 2019, Pearlyn was also the sole Southeast Asian player to enter the Top 16 at the Asian Junior & Cadet Table Tennis Championships. During her free time, Pearlyn enjoys reading and catching up with her friends.