World No. 1 Sun Yingsha overcame a stubborn challenge from No. 2 Wang Manyu to retain her title at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships, outwitting her compatriot with a 4-3 victory to clinch gold in Doha on Sunday.
China swept the singles titles with Wang Chuqin securing a dominant 4-1 victory over Hugo Calderano in the men's final.
Manyu, who beat Yingsha in the 2021 final, fought back from two games down and saved four championship points. However, Yingsha, who had beaten Manyu in nine of their previous 10 meetings, rallied to win the seventh game 11-7 to secure the title.
"I fought hard ... and I cherished each game," Yingsha said. "And I'm extremely happy I managed to stand till the last."
Yingsha, 24, started well, winning the first two games 11-6, 12-10. Manyu bounced back to dominate the next two games and was a point away from winning the fifth, but Yingsha saved the game point and took it 12-10.
Yingsha took a 10-6 lead in the sixth game and was a point away from winning the tile, but Manyu held her nerve to win the next three points. The defending champion pushed for victory with a forehand that Wang barely got her paddle to, but the ball soared up high and nicked the table, putting Manyu level at 10-10.
Manyu seized the momentum to win the sixth game 13-11 and took a 3-0 lead in the decisive seventh.
"At that time, my mentality fluctuated a little bit," Yingsha said.
In the men's final, No. 2 Chuqin claimed his first singles gold at worlds with a 4-1 victory against Calderano to avenge his loss to the Brazilian at last month's World Cup.
No. 3 Calderano, the first Brazilian to win the World Cup, was no match for Chuqin's speed as the Asian Cup winner forced Calderano on to the defensive.
Chuqin took the first two games 12-10, 11-3. Although Calderano bounced back to win the third 11-4, Chuqin regained control to seal victory.
Japan won the men's doubles title for the first time in 64 years, with Hiroto Shinozuka and Shunsuke Togami edging out Taiwan's Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui 3-2.