South Korea’s table tennis ace Shin Yu-bin advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2026 WTT Champions Montpellier on October 27, defeating Taiwan’s Cheng I-ching 3-0 at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier, France.
Ranked 12th in the world, Shin swept the match with game scores of 11-2, 13-11, and 11-5, wrapping up the contest in just 24 minutes. The win snapped a recent three-match losing streak against Cheng, the world No. 33, bringing Shin’s head-to-head record against her to two wins and three losses.
Shin took immediate control of the opening game, establishing a 6-0 lead before stretching it to 10-1 and closing it out after conceding only two points. The second game proved far tighter. Shin led 7-3, but Cheng mounted a fierce comeback to level the score at 9-9. After Cheng earned a game point at 10-9, Shin forced a deuce and eventually claimed the game 13-11. The third game mirrored the first, as Shin jumped to a 5-0 advantage, reached match point at 10-3, and sealed the win at 11-5.
The reward for the dominant victory is a clash with China’s Sun Yingsha, ranked 2nd in the world.
Sun held the world No. 1 ranking for 217 weeks before Wang Manyu overtook her in mid-September. While a hiatus for rehabilitation and rest ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games lowered her ranking points, Sun remains the de facto world’s strongest player. She advanced to the Round of 16 by defeating France’s Camille Lutz 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-3).
Meanwhile, the men’s singles tournament saw South Korea’s Ahn Jae-hyun secure a dramatic comeback victory. Ranked 38th, Ahn overcame Egypt’s 25th-ranked Omar Assar 3-2, recovering from a two-game deficit to win 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 13-11.
Ahn moves on to face Lin Shu-jeng, ranked 9th, in the next round. Lin earned his spot in the Round of 16 by defeating South Korea’s Im Jong-hoon, ranked 35th, with a game score of 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-2).
| Player | World Ranking | Round of 32 Result | Next Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shin Yu-bin (South Korea) | 12th | Won 3-0 vs. Cheng I-ching | Sun Yingsha (2nd) |
| Ahn Jae-hyun (South Korea) | 38th | Won 3-2 vs. Omar Assar | Lin Shu-jeng (9th) |
| Im Jong-hoon (South Korea) | 35th | Lost 0-3 vs. Lin Shu-jeng | Eliminated |
