Jang Woo-jin, 'New Era in Korean Table Tennis,' Wins WTT Champions Title for the First Time by a Korean Player... A Historic 'Comeback Drama'

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

It is a new era for Korean table tennis. Jang Woo-jin (world No. 10) completed a miraculous comeback, overturning a dire game score deficit to become the first Korean player to claim the singles title at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions.

Jang secured a comeback victory with a score of 4-3 (3-11, 11-7, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8) in a seven-game full-set thriller against Patrick Franziska (Germany, world No. 18) in the men's singles final of the WTT Champions Montpellier 2026, held on the 2nd (Korean time) at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier, France, to win the gold medal.

The WTT Champions is a top-tier tournament that determines the strongest men's and women's singles players through a 32-player knockout format, featuring only an elite field of 32 players: the top 28 ranked players and four wild card entries, with no doubles events. The winner alone earns 1,000 ranking points, boasting a status second only to the Grand Smash (2,000 points) and the Finals (1,500 points). Held just six times a year in Doha (January), Chongqing (March), Yokohama (August), Macau (September), Montpellier (October), and Frankfurt (November), Jang Woo-jin is the first Korean player in history to be crowned champion on this stage.

The previous best result for Korean table tennis at the WTT Champions was the runner-up finishes achieved by Lee Sang-su at the April 2025 Incheon event, Jang Woo-jin at the January Doha event this year, and Oh Jun-seong (Korea Exchange) at the August Yokohama event. Jang, who tasted defeat in the January Doha final to Lin Yun-ju (Taiwan), finally embraced the championship trophy on the final stage he revisited after nine months, becoming the protagonist of a new history.

Jang Woo-jin's path to the final at this tournament was arduous. After defeating Flavien Coton (France, No. 23) in the round of 32, he overcame Lin Yun-ju (No. 6) in the round of 16 to achieve revenge. He then advanced to the final by consecutively defeating world-class powerhouses Liang Jing-kun (China, No. 39) in the quarterfinals and Hugo Calderano (Brazil, No. 7) in the semifinals.

The final was also a drama. Jang ceded the momentum by losing the first game 3-11 to Franziska's one-sided offensive pressure. In the second game, he led 7-2 but allowed the score to tie at 7-7; however, demonstrating focus, he scored four consecutive points to level the match at 11-7. But blocked by Franziska's counterattack, Jang lost the third game 7-11 and the fourth game 9-11 in succession, falling behind 1-3 in games.

In a situation where defeat seemed likely, Jang Woo-jin's formidable late-game strength shone through. In the fifth game, he widened the gap to 7-3 before taking it 11-9, igniting the spark of pursuit. In the sixth game, he turned around a match he was trailing 4-6 to lead 9-6, securing an 11-8 victory to drag the contest to a decisive seventh game.

The final seventh game also featured a nail-biting, unpredictable battle that remained tight until 4-4 and 8-8. In the crucial moment at 8-8, Jang Woo-jin remained unshaken and unleashed three consecutive points with sharp attacks to close out the match 11-8.

Jang Woo-jin, who set a new milestone for Korean table tennis, will immediately head to Frankfurt, Germany, to compete in this year's final WTT Champions, held from the 3rd to the 8th local time, challenging for consecutive titles at two tournaments.

Meanwhile, in the women's singles final on the same day, world No. 2 Sun Ying-sha (China) defeated Kuai Man (China) 4-1 to claim the top spot. Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air, No. 12), the flagship of Korean women's table tennis, met Sun Ying-sha in the round of 16 and unfortunately lost, concluding her schedule.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original