World No 1 Lin ousted, Sun romps into table tennis Asian Cup final

SHENZHEN -- World No 1 Lin Shidong of China suffered a seven-game upset in the men's singles semifinals, while Sun Yingsha cruised into the women's final at the Asian Cup table tennis tournament on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Lin, widely regarded as a potential successor to Chinese Olympic champions Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, squandered a two-game lead, falling in a five-game thriller to 28-year-old teammate Liang Jingkun 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8.

Liang, who had staged multiple comeback victories in this tournament, said he fought for every point despite the odds.

Liang will face two-time Olympic gold medalist Wang Chuqin in an all-Chinese final on Sunday evening. Wang secured his spot with a six-game victory over Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun-ju 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3, 8-11, 11-5.

"I made quite a few unforced mistakes in the first game, but I fought on to the last point," Wang said.

Meanwhile, Sun Yingsha, who received overwhelming crowd support, dominated her semifinal match against teammate Chen Xingtong, winning 11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 14-12.

In the final, Sun will face her arch-rival Wang Manyu, who defeated Kuai Man 11-7, 11-4, 15-13, 7-11, 12-10 in the semifinals.

The highly anticipated Sun-Wang showdown is expected to be one of the loudest finals of the Asian Cup, as their matchups regularly split spectators into two rival fan bases.

"I will present the best of myself in the final," Wang said.