Hong Kong’s table tennis team has scored a historic breakthrough, with the men’s doubles partnership of Wong Chun-ting and Baldwin Chan Ho-wah rising to World No. 1 in the latest WTT world rankings.
The pair climbed one spot to the top position after the latest update, earning 4,395 points—surpassing Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun on 4,095 points and China’s Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong on 4,000 points. The French Lebrun brothers, previously ranked first, slipped to fourth with 3,780 points.
Wong, 34, and Chan, 20, began their partnership in October last year, emerging as one of Hong Kong’s most compelling “veteran-with-youngster” success stories. Their rapid ascent is built on a string of standout performances across the WTT circuit over the past year.
Their biggest boost came from their championship run at the WTT Europe Smash in Sweden in August, where they defeated top Korean and Japanese opponents before edging China’s Lin Shidong and Huang Youzheng 3–2 in a thrilling final to collect 2,000 ranking points.
The duo added further weight to their ranking with a semifinal finish at the WTT US Smash (700 points), a runner-up result at the London Star Contender (420 points), and a title victory at the Zagreb Contender (400 points). Their consistency across major events ultimately carried them to the summit of the global rankings.
Although men’s doubles is not featured in the upcoming WTT Finals to be held at the Hong Kong Coliseum on December 10, Wong will still compete—this time with Doo Hoi-kem in the mixed doubles, where the pair has already secured qualification based on their world ranking.
marco.lam@singtaonewscorp.com
