Liu Shiwen wins World Table Tennis Cup; equals record held by Zhang Yining and Wang Nan

Liu Shiwen won the World Women's Cup of Table Tennis at Sendai by beating Kasumi Ishikawa of the host nation in straight sets. By winning the title again, she equaled the record that is held by Wang Nan and Zhang Yining.

Shiwen beat Ishikawa in straight sets, in a match that saw Ishikawa overawed by the occasion of her first major final.

In one of the most sensational results at the quarter final stage, Petrissa Solja had beaten local superstar, Ai Fukuhara 4-3 coming back from the dead from 0-3 down, and deuce in the fourth.

World Cup Final (Women) Result:

Finals:
Liu Shiwen beat Kasumi Ishikawa 14-12, 11-2, 11-9, 11-2

Semi finals:
Liu Shiwen beat Petrissa Solja 11-8, 12-10, 11-3, 11-3

Kasumi Ishikawa beat Li Jiao 6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 15-13, 11-5

Photo courtesy of the ITTF.

Ai Fukuhara is back to training and competition

Photo courtesy Sports.sohu.com
Ai Fukuhara being helped by other players. Scars visible at the elbow

Super star Table Tennis player Ai Fukuhara is back to playing Table Tennis after her surgery that kept her away from the Table for an extended period. She lost to China's new top woman player Cheng Meng 4-0. Fukuhara was full of praise for Cheng Meng and admitted that the young player has taken giant strides since she last played her.

Earlier, she was seen working out hard at training sessions, despite warning from her coaches not to overwork her elbow.

Fukuhara is a very popular player, both among her huge fans in Japan as well as among other professional players. It is a known fact that Ai Fukuhara is very fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Fukuhara plays with the following equipment - Armstrong Attack 8m rubber on her backhand and Spinart on Forehand. She uses a custom blade (FL) made specially for her.