Team asia won the inaugural Waldner Cup in Oslo, Norway, on Sunday by beating team world with a score of 14-10.
This tournament was established by Barcelona 1992 Olympic gold medallist Jan Ove Waldner of Sweden.
Team Asia featured a stellar lineup, including Ma Long, a six-time Olympic gold medalist, and Chen Meng, the reigning women’s singles champion from the Paris 2024 Olympics, both from the People’s Republic of China 🇨🇳 .
The team also included Shin Yubin, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist from the Republic of Korea 🇰🇷 , Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko, and India’s Manika Batra.
The Waldner Cup was a two-day competition, with teams fielding both male and female players in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches.
The scoring system awarded one point for each win on the first day and two points for each victory on the second day.
On the first day Manika Batra teamed up with South Korea’s Shin Yubin. They lost the match to Puerto Rican table tennis player Adriana Diaz and Romania’s Bernadette Szocs with a scoreline 2-1.
On the crucial second day Manika played against world No. 16 Adriana Diaz and went down 2-0.
In the penultimate match, the score was tied at 10 all until reigning Olympic champion Chen Meng stepped up, delivering a commanding performance to secure a crucial victory and give her team the upper hand heading into the final match.
In the decisive showdown, the legendary Ma Long sealed the win for Team Asia by defeating Truls Möregardh.
With that victory, Team Asia triumphed in the tournament, clinching the title with a 14-10 final score.
