Chinese Table Tennis Stars Take Over Hong Kong Streets as Wang Manyu Shines with 8 Straight Wins over Miwa Harimoto

On the afternoon of December 8, the WTT Finals held its official draw ceremony in Hong Kong, with China’s Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu serving as guest representatives. For the national team, the schedule has been relentless—they had just wrapped up the Mixed Team World Cup final in Chengdu late on December 7 before immediately flying to Hong Kong for the ceremony.

After the draw concluded, Hong Kong fans captured videos of the Chinese team strolling through the city. It was a rare moment of downtime for the players, who dressed casually for the outing. Wang Manyu wore a teal jacket, while Chen Yi chose a white windbreaker.

On the morning of December 9 (Beijing time), media outlets released high-definition photos of the team walking through Hong Kong’s streets. Wang Manyu appeared relaxed and cheerful, smiling widely in several shots.

Chen Xingtong, who did not compete in the Chengdu Mixed Team World Cup, recently enjoyed more than a week of rest following the National Games. Heading into the Finals, she has the best physical reserves on the team—and it showed in her bright, happy expression.

Meanwhile, Shi Xunyao, despite not participating in the Mixed Team World Cup, remains the Chinese player with the highest number of WTT appearances this season. Unfortunately, she suffered a shocking first-round exit at the National Games after being reversed 4–3 by Li Yake, placing her overall form and competitiveness under scrutiny.

Chen Yi has been one of the breakout stars of the 2025 season, climbing into the world’s top ten. However, she has consistently struggled against Zhu Yuling—and will face her again in the first round of the Finals. Fans are eager to see whether she can finally overcome this psychological hurdle.

In mixed doubles, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin will partner again. They were the only pair at the Mixed Team World Cup to record six straight wins without dropping a single game. Their chemistry is impeccable, though both kept straight faces during photos.

Lin Shidong and Kuai Man will also continue their mixed doubles partnership at the Finals. As a duo earmarked for special development ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic cycle, they appeared relaxed and smiling in their official photos.

Following Japan’s 1–8 loss to China in the mixed team final, Miwa Harimoto reflected on her 0–3 defeat to Wang Manyu. She noted that recent losses to Wang have all followed a similar pattern—she scores a few points each game but remains far from reaching 11. With Wang and Harimoto set to clash again in the first round of the Finals, anticipation is high.

Wang Manyu remains the only Chinese player who has never lost to Miwa Harimoto, currently holding an eight-match winning streak. She has also not lost to any Japanese opponent in six years. Her dominant head-to-head results against Harimoto include:

2023 Hangzhou Asian Games: Wang Manyu 3–1 Miwa Harimoto
2024 Macau World Cup: Wang Manyu 4–2 Miwa Harimoto
2024 Paris Olympics: Wang Manyu 3–1 Miwa Harimoto
2025 Chongqing Champions: Wang Manyu 3–0 Miwa Harimoto
2025 Macau World Cup: Wang Manyu 4–3 Miwa Harimoto
2025 Doha World Championships: Wang Manyu 4–0 Miwa Harimoto
2025 China Grand Slam: Wang Manyu 4–0 Miwa Harimoto
2025 Mixed Team World Cup: Wang Manyu 3–0 Miwa Harimoto

With another showdown approaching, the storyline around this unbeatable rivalry is set to take center stage once again.