Sun Yingsha plays a forehand against compatriot Wang Yidi on December 7, 2021 in Singapore. Photo: VCG

Sun Yingsha, a talented Chinese table tennis player, finally clinched victory at the inaugural WTT Cup Finals on Tuesday in Singapore. 

During the Women’s Singles Finals, Sun went up against another Chinese player, Wang Yidi, 4-2, to win a gold medal. The win is being seen by fans as a significant one for the athlete, especially after her missed chances at the previous Houston games. 

“She finally got what she deserves, especially when the Houston Games just finished. It is so surprising that she was able to gain such a good record in such a short time. Winning again after losing and being able to adjust quickly, she is a terrific player,” Qiu Yan, an amateur player, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Sun’s updated record has become a hot topic earning more than 190 million views on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo. People sent her congratulations and commented that the “silver getter” had finally achieved a breakthrough. 

Before the gold in Singapore, Sun won two silvers at the Olympics and the Houston games. She is much loved by netizens not only because of a fierce playing style that is not often seen among female players, but also due to her dedication to the table tennis remaining firm despite her previous coach Huang Haicheng leaving to fully devote himself to family life. 

“Go our fierce Sha. Please get the little monster a coach, seeing her training alone is sad,” posted a netizen on Sina Weibo.  

Sun, however, has not been battling alone. In the Tuesday event’s semi-final, she played with Japanese player Hina Hayata, while retired Chinese table tennis player Chen Qi, a veteran who made the history in 2004 as the youngest man to win gold at the Summer Olympics, was there as her coach. 

In order to encourage Sun, Chen patted her on the head, which touched many netizens. 

“It is not that easy to match players with coaches. There are much more things to consider like the player’s technique and characteristics, the coach’s specialties, the rapport between them and so on, and frequently changing coaches can affect one’s performances very much,” Li Maimin, a table tennis expert, told the Global Times.