TOKYO, Nov. 10 -- China defeated Japan 3-0 in the final of the women's team event at the 2019 Table Tennis Team World Cup here on Sunday.
This year's World Cup is a test event for the Tokyo Olympic Games, adopting the same best-of-five competition system of the Olympics in which the first match is a doubles, followed by four singles matches.
In the doubles, China's Chen Meng and Liu Shiwen beat Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano 11-7, 11-9, 12-10, after catching up for five points in the last game.
"I enjoyed the competition today and the feeling of fighting for my country," Chen said in a post-match press conference.
China's 19-year-old Sun Yingsha defeated Japan's Mima Ito in the first singles match 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10.
"Both my team and I had a lot of confidence in winning the final. So I didn't give up when I fell behind. I was thinking I could still win," Sun said.
Liu secured China's victory in the second singles match, winning over Hirano 11-3, 11-8, 11-5.
"I am very glad to win the championship in the venue that will hold next year's Olympic Games and I will continue to train for the Olympics," Liu said.
"Both sides played at a high level today and our players have been tested, especially the younger players," said Li Sun, coach of the Chinese women's team.