Vengeful Wang defeats Moregard to reach TT worlds final

DOHA -- Wang Chuqin took sweet revenge for his Olympic loss to Truls Moregard, beating the Swede 4-1 in the men's singles semifinals of the World Table Tennis Championships on Saturday.

The second-seeded Chinese, who had suffered a 4-2 defeat by the Swedish giant-killer in the 2024 Paris Olympics, overcame a slow start and took a crucial fourth set to triumph 5-11, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10, 12-10 over 45 minutes.

Trailing 8-10, Wang turned very aggressive and snatched four points in a row to win the fourth set 12-10. The fifth set saw the Chinese lead 7-3, 10-6 before the Swede made it 10-10.

Moregard then sent a topspin forehand into the net and hit a backhand strike wide to conclude his Doha journey.

"I didn't find my rhythm until the second set," said Wang. "Moregard did very well and pressured me throughout the game."

Moregard said: "I think he played quite passive in the first set. He was not there mentally, and I took advantage of it.

"He just raised this level to a very high one and I couldn't keep up with it. So in the end, he was just a better player."