WTT Finals: Wang Chuqin pulls out in Hong Kong, empty seats for Japanese champion
Tomokazu Harimoto is first non-Chinese men’s Finals champion after Wang Manyu retains women’s title
Wang Chuqin withdrew from the semi-finals of the WTT Finals on Sunday, the second world No 1 to pull out injured in the space of 24 hours, sparking concern among officials that there might be too many table tennis tournaments on the calendar.
A day after women’s top seed Sun Yingsha forfeited during her singles semi-final in Hong Kong, her compatriot followed suit before his last-four contest against Sweden’s Truls Moregard had even begun.
The absence of Wang resulted in swathes of empty seats at Hong Kong Coliseum as Tomokazu Harimoto beat Moregard 4-2 to become the Finals’ first men’s singles champion not from China. Harimoto, of Japan, had eliminated Lin Shidong, the other Chinese contender, 4-3 in the semis.
In the women’s event, China’s world No 2 Wang Manyu beat fourth-ranked compatriot Kuai Man 4-2 to retain the title she won in Fukuoka last December.
Steve Dainton, the World Table Tennis CEO, said Wang Chuqin had woken up with a bad back and “was not feeling well”.
“He tried to come and practise, and it got worse,” Dainton said. “He tried to take something to take away the pain, but it couldn’t go away. They were a bit concerned that if he plays, it may make it a bigger problem.”