By Henry Chen
The Liebherr 2016 Men’s World Cup ended with a victorious Hong Kong player named Wong Chun Ting. On Sunday 3rd October, the 25-year old clinched the bronze medal in the competition making him the first ever player from Hong Kong to have won a medal in the Men’s World Cup.
Wong Chun Ting started to play table tennis in a rather late age of nine. He started to have ideas on establishing a professional career when he reached 13 years old.
Being a local of Hong Kong, Wong is considered to be a precious member for their team. In recent years, the Hong Kong Team strongly hopes to develop more locals instead of having naturalised players from China. Wong Chun Ting gives the team hope and a boost of confidence.
Wong Chun Ting went up into the medal podium in the Suzhou World Championships in 2015. At that time, he, together with partner Doo Hoi Kem, won bronze medal in the Mixed Doubles.
Just last month, Wong Chun Ting stunned everyone following his successful battle against the Chinese Olympic Team champion and world’s third player Xu Xin. He eliminated the Chinese Xu Xin in a full-distance duel in the quarter-final round.
With his recent achievements, Wong Chun Ting has entered into the elite group of players in the world. He is now one of the top ten players in the world. Wong Chun Ting occupies the seventh place in the October world ranking and is currently the highest standing player from Hong Kong.