China's Wang Chuqin celebrates with his trophy after defeating Brazil's Hugo Calderano in the men's final match for the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals Doha 2025 held at the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Photo: VCG

On Sunday, Chinese table tennis player Wang Chuqin defeated Brazil's Hugo Calderano 4-1 at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships ­Finals in Doha to claim his first career men's ­singles world title at the championships. Calderano, who defeated Chinese athlete Liang Jingkun in the semifinals, is the first-ever South American finalist at the World Table Tennis Championships.

"Reaching the men's singles final at the World Championships for two consecutive editions has proven that Wang possesses not only solid technical skills, but also growing maturity in handling high-pressure tournaments," Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"Winning the title marks a defining moment in his career and solidifies his place among the sport."

Earlier on Sunday, China's Sun Yingsha edged out compatriot Wang Manyu 4-3 in a thrilling final to defend her women's singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships in Doha. China dominated the event, sweeping both gold and silver in the women's singles.

This marks the 26th time that China has claimed the women's singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships, and the 19th time that Chinese players have taken both the gold and silver medals. Since 1995, Chinese women have reached the singles final in 16 consecutive editions of the tournament.

China's Wang Manyu and Kuai Man beat Austria's Sofia Polcanova and Romania's Bernadette Szocs in straight sets to win the women's doubles final at the World Table Tennis Championships. Firmly taking control, the Chinese pair triumphed 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 over 21 minutes. 

Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha won the mixed doubles title on Saturday.

The Chinese team concluded this year's tournament with a total of 4 golds, 1 silver, and 2 bronzes.

According to Liu, the final between Wang and Calderano represents two distinct trajectories in the world of table tennis: one the stable talent pipeline that is China's deep-rooted training system, and the other, the gradual rise of international challengers built through years of persistence.

In Saturday's men's singles semifinal, Wang defeated Swedish star player Truls Moregardh 4-1 to reach the final.

The match was not only a replay of their clash at the Paris Olympics - where Moregardh won 4-2 - but also seen by many as a "revenge match" for Wang following that Olympic loss.

"Wang brought this match to a whole new level. He played brilliantly today, always coming up with something unexpected. He's one of the best table tennis players in the world right now," Moregardh said after the match.

Calderano edged past China's Liang Jingkun 4-3 in men's singles semifinal to reach the final on Saturday. By defeating South Korea's An Jaehyun in the quarterfinals on Friday, Calderano had already made history as the first player from Brazil, and indeed all of Latin America, to win a medal at the World Championships, which do not feature a third-place playoff. 

Calderano's rise has been far from sudden. At the 2021 World Championships in Houston, he faced Liang Jingkun in the quarterfinals and, after taking a commanding 3-0 lead, was dramatically overturned after Liang won four straight games. At 2024's Paris Olympics, he reached the men's singles semifinals.

In April, Calderano achieved a major career breakthrough at the Macao Table Tennis World Cup, defeating Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong in the semifinals and final respectively to claim the title. The headline "Brazilian wins Table Tennis World Cup" quickly became a trending topic.