DOHA - China's Olympic champions Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha secured their mixed doubles three-peat at the World Table Tennis Championships, as world Cup holder Hugo Calderano won a game of high drama on Saturday to become the first ever South American finalist.
Against fifth-seeded Chinese Liang Jingkun, the 28-year-old Brazilian snatched 10 points in a row from 0-3 down and squandered six straight match points before nailing the seven-set thriller (15-13, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 3-11, 7-11, 11-9), setting up a gold medal clash with Wang Chuqin.
"This is a crazy match," said Calderano. "I started off the last set losing 0-3, but somehow, at that moment, I felt an energy in my body - almost a certainty that I was going to win the match.
"I don't know where that confidence came from, but I found solutions and managed to play much better."
The third seed, who used his high-toss serves to disrupt Liang's rhythm and took initiative in the first two sets, overcame the hard-hitting Chinese over 75 minutes.
"Things got tricky again at the end, but somehow, I managed to win the final point and take the match," he added.
Calderano was worried that his family members watching TV in Brazil might not be able to stand the intensity of the game.
"I am afraid they might pass out," he said.
Liang, who failed to repeat his comeback feat at the 2021 World Championships where he rallied from three sets down to eliminate the Brazilian, has earned praise from his rival.
"Liang is one of the strongest players in the world, both mentally and technically," said Calderano. "He is a true fighter."
Calderano anticipated a tough final against second-seeded Wang.
"It's going to be another very tough battle," he said. "He's the best in the world and has been dominating all the major competitions for a few years now. So we'll see what happens. I will take it point by point, shot by shot."
Earlier in the day, Wang took sweet revenge for his Olympic loss to Truls Moregard, beating the Swede 4-1 (5-11, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10, 12-10) over 45 minutes.
Trailing 8-10, Wang turned very aggressive and snatched four points in a row to win the fourth set. The fifth set saw the Chinese lead 7-3, and then 10-6 before the Swede made it 10-10.
Moregard then sent a topspin forehand into the net and hit a backhand strike wide to conclude his Doha journey.
"I didn't find my rhythm until the second set," said Wang. "Moregard did very well and pressured me throughout the game."
Moregard said: "Wang played quite passive in the first set. He was not there mentally, and I took advantage of it.
"He just raised this level to a very high one, and I couldn't keep up with it. So in the end, he was just a better player."
In the morning, Wang and Sun overcame a late surge from 16th-seeded Japanese Maharu Yoshimura and Satsuki Odo, winning 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8 over 39 minutes in what was their 16th consecutive win in the event.
"Our opponents posed a great threat with cohesion and tactics even if they are both right-handed," said Sun. "We trusted each other when the scores were close. We shared the same determination to make it three in a row."
READ MORE: China's Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingsha advance in table tennis worlds
With one gold medal under the belt, Sun overpowered Japan's Mima Ito 4-0 and will vie for the women's singles gold against teammate Wang Manyu, who whitewashed Chen Xingtong in straight sets in the all-Chinese semifinal.
Sunday will also see Chinese Taipei's Kao Cheng-jui and Lin Yun-ju vs Japan's Hiroto Shinozuka and Shunsuke Togami in the men's doubles final, and Wang Manyu and Kuai Man against Austria's Sofia Polcanova and Bernadette Szocs of Romania in the women's doubles title match.
