Chinese teenagers claim para table tennis doubles crown

paul myers

Fri, 30 Aug 2024, 6:25 pm·2-min read

Absent since the 1976 Paralympic Games in Toronto, para table tennis doubles was reintroduced into the 2024 schedule and on Friday night, rather like in the sport's Olympic incarnation, China was among the golds.

Wenjuan Huang, 19, and Yucheng Jin, 16, fought off the German veterans Juliane Wolf and Stephanie Grebe to claim the prize in the WD14 category.

They won 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 in 31 minutes at the South Paris Arena.

“It feels so good," Huang told the International Table Tennis Federation website.

"I never imagined I could get a gold medal. This was a very good start for the whole Chinese team."

Of her burgeoning rapport with Jin, she added: "We practise very hard and we are good friends, too. We will be even better friends after winning this gold medal together.”

Huang competed at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo where she won silver in the singles and gold in the team event.

Jin, who was playing at her first Paralympic Games, started competing internationally last year.

"Jin played very well," said Grebe magnanimously. "The match was very close but they were just a little bit better at the end," added the 36-year-old who took silver and bronze in the S6 singles at the Rio and Tokyo Paralympics respectively.

"We had our chances," Wolf said. "And that's why I'm a little disappointed."

The 36-year-old added: "If you have a chance to win a Paralympic final, of course you want to do this."

Triumph

Shortly after Huang and Jin's triumph, Jing Liu and Juan Xue upset the top seeds Su Yeon Seo and Jiyu Yoon from South Korea.