OLYMPIC champion Ding Ning beat fellow Chinese Zhu Yuling 4-2 (11-4, 9-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7) to win her third women’s singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany, yesterday.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa made history after claiming their country’s first mixed doubles gold in 48 years.

The Japanese pair had a hard match against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-an and Cheng I-ching on Saturday.

Yoshimura and Ishikawa, silver medalists two years ago, came from 1-3 down to win the final 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5.

Ding beat Japan’s 17-year-old sensation Miu Hirano 4-1 in the semifinals Saturday. Ding’s victory over the Japanese was sweet revenge for her shock defeat to Hirano in the Asian Championships quarterfinals last April and has also secured the title for China.

On Friday, two-time winner Zhang Jike suffered a surprise defeat to South Korea’s Lee Sangsu in the men’s singles round of 32. It was his earliest exit since making his singles debut at the World Championships. (SD News)