Shin Yubin made history as Sora Matsuhima defied all expectations at the ITTF Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s World Cup Macao. The story of the day and the tournament so far undoubtedly came from Korea\u2019s Yubin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a performance that will be talked about for years to come, the Korean defeated world number three Chen Xingtong 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-0, 11-9 to become the first ever woman from Korea to guarantee herself a medal at the women\u2019s World Cup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yubin had faced Xingtong four times previously without a win, their most recent encounter coming in last year\u2019s Round of 16 right here in Macao, China The fifth meeting proved to be the charm, and the manner of the victory underlined just how completely she controlled the match when it mattered most. The Galaxy Arena erupted, and rightly so, it was a moment of pure history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yubin now faces China\u2019s Wang Manyu in the semifinals, who came through a gruelling 8-11, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9 win over Japan\u2019s Honoka Hashimoto. Hashimoto\u2019s defensive style made every rally a battle, pushing Wang deep into each exchange in a match that lasted one hour and twenty-five minutes, the second longest of the entire event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know that I am the first female player from Korea to reach the semifinals here! I am just so happy that I was able to put in such\u00a0a great performance\u00a0in today\u2019s match. For the rest of the tournament, my goal is to just stay\u00a0in\u00a0the moment and enjoy each match,” said Yubin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Tomorrow, I will face the winner of Wang Manyu and Honoka Hashimoto.\u00a0Both of them are very strong players, so I don\u2019t have any specific, targeted preparations in mind yet.\u00a0My plan is to just rest well and eat well\u2014hopefully, I can continue to do my best in tomorrow\u2019s match. To my fans in Korea, thank you so much for\u00a0the\u00a0support. I am very\u00a0happy!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germany\u2019s Sabine Winter continued one of the most remarkable stories this tournament has ever produced. The European Cup winner defeated China\u2019s Wang Yidi 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 in a display of composure and precision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In doing so, Winter became the first European woman to secure a medal at the women\u2019s singles World Cup since her German teammate Petrissa Solja achieved the feat back in 2015. Fuelled by her recent Singapore Smash win over Wang and carrying the confidence of a player who is playing at the peak of her career, Winter was in complete control from start to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel great! It feels like a dream that I am in the World Cup semifinals.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0just trying to enjoy this moment.\u00a0To my fans, thank you so much for all your support; it really means a lot to\u00a0me\u00a0and it keeps me going. I also want to send greetings to\u00a0Petrissa\u00a0Solja.\u00a0She is\u00a0a very good\u00a0friend, and as\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0said before, I am so happy to be the first German woman to medal at this event since she did it,” said Winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top seed Sun Yingsha was made to work harder today than the audience expected. Africa Cup winner Hana Goda pushed the defending champion to the absolute brink in a match that lasted one hour and twenty-eight minutes, the longest of the entire tournament, and had the Galaxy Arena completely transfixed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goda saved nothing, playing the match of her life and forcing Sun to save two match points in the deciding game before the Chinese star finally came through 13-11, 11-8, 14-16, 5-11, 10-12, 11-3, 13-11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yingsha advances, but the crowd\u2019s admiration for Goda was unmistakable. She leaves Macao, China having made history for African table tennis and having shown the world exactly what she is capable of at only 18 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy to have won eventually. Hana Goda played incredibly well. I went up 2\u20130, then led 10\u20136 in the third game, but she fought back and took the third game. After that, she was completely unleashed in terms of her form and the variation of her shots. She\u2019s already made history for Africa and I knew that she came from behind yesterday to reach the quarterfinals. I have already expected a tough, tight match today, and it was!” said Yingsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honestly, I\u2019m still a bit stunned. Seven full games, and the final one was decided by just two points. At that time, we were both calculating every shot and kept thinking. Our rallies were also excellent. Even when I was down 6\u20132 in the last game, I didn\u2019t give up. Coach Ma, President Wang, Coach Qin, Coach Qiu, and my teammates kept encouraging me and I tried to fight for each point. It was truly a hard\u2011fought battle!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yingsha and Winter now meet in the semifinals, the Asian Cup winner against the European Cup winner, in what promises to be one of the matches of the tournament. Sun leads their head-to-head 2-0, but after everything Winter has produced this week, that statistic feels like it means very little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the men\u2019s singles, Japan\u2019s Sora Matsushima set the tone in the morning session, delivering a stunning straight sets 11-7, 11-7, 11-8, 11-1 demolition of second seed Truls Moregard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the win, Matsushima secured his first ever men\u2019s World Cup medal, and will now face Chinese Taipei\u2019s Lin Yun-Ju in the semifinals, a player who knows what it takes to stand on this podium, having claimed bronze at the 2019 Men\u2019s World Cup in Chengdu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top seed and China\u2019s sole remaining hope in the Men\u2019s draw, Wang Chuqin was taken to the edge by Slovenia\u2019s Darko Jorgic in one of the day\u2019s most gripping contests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trailing 1-3 and staring at a quarterfinal exit, Chuqin dug in and fought back with everything he had, clawing his way back to level before eventually claiming the match 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8 in a display of will and resilience that had the packed Galaxy Arena on its feet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chuqin now faces a rematch of last year\u2019s Men\u2019s World Cup semifinal against reigning champion Hugo Calderano \u2014 a tie that carries enormous weight given what is at stake for both the players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a very lucky win. Darko played well again\u2014he didn\u2019t give me much room to turn things around. In the fifth game, he had some ups and downs mentally. Winning those two points put me in a good headspace as well. Really happy to have survived until the last day. Hope I can go further than last time,\u201d said Chuqin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calderano, the American Cup winner, closed out the evening in commanding fashion, defeating France\u2019s Alexis Lebrun, the European Cup winner, in straight sets 11-8, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 to confirm his semifinal spot. The Brazilian has been building throughout the week, and arrives in the last four looking every bit like a player determined to defend his title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling great, especially knowing I\u2019ve secured a medal here once again.\u00a0It\u2019s really special.\u00a0Coming here as the defending champion, I knew it\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0going to be easy to reach the podium again because the competition\u00a0is\u00a0so huge.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0very happy\u00a0to be in the semifinals and to have a medal guaranteed, and of course,\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0try my best tomorrow to go for even more.\u00a0Wang Chuqin is going to be the\u00a0favourite, as he is against everyone else, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0great to play big matches like this.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0very happy\u00a0that I am consistently reaching the podium at these big events. I\u2019ll just enjoy the moment and give it my all,\u201d said Calderano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Men\u2019s singles: <\/strong>Wang Chuqin (Chn) bt Darko Jorgic (Slo) 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8; Sora Matsushima (Jpn) bt Truls Moregaard (Swe) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8, 11-1; Lin Yun-Ju (Tpe) bt Tomokazu Harimoto (Jpn) 12-14, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4; Hugo Calderano (Bra) bt Alexis Lebrun (Fra) 11-8, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women\u2019s singles: <\/strong>Wang Manyu (Chn) bt Honoka Hashimoto (Jpn) 8-11, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9; <\/strong>Shin Yubin (Chn) bt Chen Xingtong (Chn) 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-0, 11-9; Sun Yingsha (Chn) bt Hana Goda (Egy) 13-11, 11-8, 14-16, 5-11, 10-12, 11-3, 13-11; Sabine Winter (Ger) bt Wang Yidi (Chn) 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shin Yubin made history as Sora Matsuhima defied all expectations at the ITTF Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s World Cup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-11257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-table-tennis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-768x512.jpg",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-1024x683.jpg",640,427,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Shin-Yubin.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11259,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11257\/revisions\/11259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}