Japan's world No.1 Sora Matsushima won the men's singles at WTT China Smash on 11 October, beating Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun-Ju 4-3 in a seven-game thriller.
Matsushima won the first two games 11-7, 11-9, but Lin took the next three (11-7, 11-8, 11-5) to lead 3-2. The Japanese left-hander held his nerve, levelling at 11-7 and closing out the decider 11-9.
Both men needed tough semi-finals. Matsushima beat home player Zhou Qihao 4-2, while Lin edged Brazil's Hugo Calderano in seven games.
A busy autumn for the world No.1
The title follows a strong run for Matsushima, who tops the ITTF men's singles ranking. At the Asian Games in late September he won bronze in the men's doubles with Shunsuke Togami and gold in the men's team event with Japan.
South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon was the other star of the week, winning the men's doubles with Oh Jun-sung (beating Alexis and Félix Lebrun in the final) and the mixed doubles with Shin Yu-bin.
Kit corner
Matsushima's backhand is the Butterfly Zyre 03. Calderano uses JOOLA's Trinity Charged on his forehand and Trinity Dynamic on his backhand.
Sources: Xinhua, 11 Oct 2026 · Table Tennis API: match record · Taiwan News · Wikipedia: Asian Games 2026 medallists
