By Ken Marantz
OCA Media
Toyota, Japan, September 28, 2026: China’s Lin Shidong may not regain the world No. 1 rank from compatriot Wang Chiqin any time soon but, on Monday, he made a statement with a comprehensive victory over him in the men’s singles table tennis final.
Lin, ranked eighth in the world, denied Wang a repeat of the Asian Games gold with a 4-0 (11-5, 11-8, 13-11, 11-5) rout at Sky Hall Toyota in an all-Chinese showdown that wrapped up the table tennis program.
“I didn’t expect to win the final 4-0,” the 21-year-old Lin said. “Wang Chuqin may still be in a period of recovery, carrying some fatigue through the various events, and I also had some lucky points.”
Lin came into the Aichi-Nagoya Games with a 1-3 career head-to-head record against Wang, including a loss in their previous meeting at the WTT Champions Chongqing in March 2025, when he held the top ranking and Wang was No. 2.
On Monday, Lin had an answer for everything that Wang threw at him in notching the biggest title of his career. Regardless of who won, China was to get its seventh straight Asian Games men’s title and 12th overall.
After dropping the first two games, Wang fought off triple game point in the third game and went ahead 11-10, only for Lin to reel off three straight points to take the game 13-11.
In the fourth game, Lin won four consecutive points to get to match point at 10-5. A Wang lob return off a smash floated past the end of the table to give Lin the gold.
“Lin Shidong deserved the win today, especially considering the road he had to take to the final,” said the 26-year-old Wang, who has had an exhaustive year that includes winning titles at the Asian Cup, World Cup and World Team Championships.
“He’s found a breakthrough at these Asian Games, found a way past the low period he’s been having, and that’s something that our team should celebrate. It’s good news for the future of table tennis. It’s also a new start for him.”
It was Lin’s second victory over Wang in Toyota, about 30 kilometers east of Nagoya. He teamed with Kuai Man in a 4-0 victory over Wang and Sun Yingsha in the mixed doubles final on Saturday.
Lin almost didn’t make it to the final. In the semifinals in the afternoon session, he had to grind out a nail-biting victory over world No. 6 Lin Yun-ju of Chinese Taipei, rallying to win the last two games to prevail 4-3 (10-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9).
“In the semifinals, I faced Lin Yun-ju, someone I’m very familiar with,” Lin said. “It was a very close fight. He started off very well, but I never gave up no matter how much I trailed.
“I was prepared to take it to seven games. To be able to come away from that battle with a win, I was very happy.”
In his semifinal, Wang outdueled Iran’s up-and-coming Nosha Alamiyan to advance with a 4-1 (11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6) victory.
Lin cleared a big hurdle in the quarterfinals when he knocked off world No. 3 Soma Matsushima, who won the decisive fifth match in the men’s team final over China that gave Japan the gold for the first time in 60 years.
“The level of play here is extremely high,” Lin said. “What I did well here was play freely, do what I know I am capable of.”
Alamiyan also had a notable win in the quarterfinals, when he beat Japan’s world No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto, also a member of the team event champion.