Asia Sports Weekly News Bulletin – ISSUE 59 Week of 6 April 2026
(1) Hong Kong table tennis star Wong hopes to build on strong momentum with partner Chan
Table tennis veteran Wong Chun‑ting and his younger partner Baldwin Chan Ho‑wah are building on their breakthrough WTT success and best‑sports‑combination award by aiming to help develop Hong Kong’s next generation of players at upcoming events in Taiyuan and London.
(2) China’s Sun and Wang battle into World Cup semi-finals on day of upsets in Macau
World No 1s Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin fight back to keep China’s hopes of double title triumph alive.
(3) Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting takes bronze at Asian championships in competitive return
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu‑ting claimed bronze at the Asian Boxing Elite Championships in Mongolia, her first tournament since the gender‑eligibility row at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as she stepped up to 60kg and used the event to recalibrate after a long layoff.
(4) Hong Kong Cricket Sixes organisers pledge to deliver ‘bigger and better’ tournament in 2026
Cricket Hong Kong, China has promised a “bigger and better” Hong Kong Cricket Sixes at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground from 30 October to 1 November 2026.
(1) Hong Kong table tennis star Wong hopes to build on strong momentum with partner Chan
(Photo Credit: Dickson Lee)
Table tennis veteran Wong Chun‑ting is hoping to build on the strong momentum he has built with his men’s doubles partner Baldwin Chan Ho‑wah after the pair were named one of the winners of the best sports combination award at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. Wong, who has received the honour three times before with his mixed‑doubles partner Doo Hoi‑kem, was nominated for the first time with 21‑year‑old Chan, a pairing that only became regular in October 2024 but has already produced major success. Chan said it felt like a dream to stand on stage with Wong, whom he has long regarded as his idol and role model.
Wong and Chan, despite a 13‑year age gap, won their first World Table Tennis title together in Zagreb last June and followed it with a top‑tier WTT Europe Smash crown in Malmo two months later, briefly rising to world No 1 in men’s doubles, an historic achievement for Hong Kong.
Although they have yet to reach the semi‑finals in three WTT events this year, Wong stressed that the focus is on “grabbing the chance” and using the partnership to help develop the next generation of players. The 34‑year‑old three‑time Olympian said he wants to share his experience and insights with younger teammates, even though he knows change ultimately depends on them. The pair’s next outing is the WTT Contender in Taiyuan, followed by the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London, where Wong and Chan will be part of a nine‑member Hong Kong squad.
News Source: https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3349060/hong-kong-table-tennis-star-wong-hopes-build-strong-momentum-partner-chan
(2) China’s Sun and Wang battle into World Cup semi-finals on day of upsets in Macau
(Photo Credit: SCMP)
Chinese stars Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin fought their way into the ITTF World Cup semi‑finals in Macau after a day of high‑pressure matches and notable upsets at the Galaxy Arena.
Top‑seeded Wang Chuqin, the men’s world No 1, staged a dramatic comeback against Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic, dropping the first three games before levelling 3–3 and then winning a tense decider 13–11 to reach the last four. He credited his narrow escape to regaining focus after a timeout and said he was simply relieved to “survive another day,” now looking ahead to a semi‑final clash with Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, who swept France’s Alexis Lebrun 4–0. The other men’s semi‑final will feature Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun‑ju against Japan’s Sora Matsushima, who stunned world No 2 Truls Moregård 4–0.
In the women’s event, only Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu advanced from China, with Chen Xintong and Wang Yidi knocked out. Sun, the women’s world No 1, needed a full seven‑game battle to overcome 17‑year‑old Egypt’s Hana Goda, the first African woman in the World Cup quarter‑finals, winning 4–3 in a match filled with long rallies and momentum swings. Sun praised Goda’s historic run and said the match left her feeling as if it was still unfinished. Next, Sun will face Germany’s Sabine Winter, who had earlier shocked Wang Yidi 4–0. The other women’s semi‑final pits South Korea’s Shin Yubin, who beat Chen Xintong 4–1, against Wang Manyu, who outlasted Japan’s Honoka Hashimoto in a gruelling, 90‑minute 4–2 win defined by sheer resilience and willpower.
(3) Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting takes bronze at Asian championships in competitive return
(Photo Credit: Reuters)
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu‑ting has taken bronze at the Asian Boxing Elite Championships, marking her first competition since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where a gender‑eligibility controversy surrounded her gold‑medal win. Lin did not box at last year’s world championships after World Boxing introduced a new policy requiring mandatory sex testing for women, a rule that came a year after her and Algeria’s Imane Khelif both won Olympic gold amid a similar dispute.
Lin was cleared to return to the female category by World Boxing last month following an appeal from Chinese Taipei’s federation, allowing her to compete at the Asian championships in Mongolia.
The 30‑year‑old, who moved up from 57kg to 60kg after her Olympic title, lost to North Korea’s Won Un‑gyong in the semi‑finals to settle for bronze. Her coach, Tseng Tzu‑chiang, said the 60kg division is still new for them and that the tournament was useful for studying opponents’ techniques and styles. Lin opened the competition with a 5–0 win over Thailand’s Thananya Somnuek and then beat Japan’s top‑seeded Ayaka Taguchi 5–0, winning every round on all five judges’ scorecards with five perfect 10s.
Tseng noted that Lin’s conditioning was not yet at its best after a long break and saw the loss as a chance to improve ahead of the Asian Games in Nagoya later this year. The requirement for further gene testing if Lin hopes to return to the Olympics remains unclear, following the International Olympic Committee’s recent rules banning transgender athletes and mandating a one‑time gene test in an athlete’s career.
News Source: https://www.scmp.com/sport/boxing/article/3349227/chinese-taipei-boxer-lin-yu-ting-takes-bronze-asian-championships-competitive-return?module=top_story&pgtype=section
(4) Hong Kong Cricket Sixes organisers pledge to deliver ‘bigger and better’ tournament in 2026
(Photo Credit: Jonathan Wong)
Cricket Hong Kong, China has announced that the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes will return to Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground from 30 October 2026 to 1 November 2026, promising a “bigger and better” edition of the fast‑paced T‑10‑style festival. The venue sold out all three days in 2025, when Pakistan captured a record‑breaking sixth title, and CHKC chairman Burji Shroff hailed that year’s tournament as “the best we’ve had” while pledging an even more enhanced experience for players, fans, and partners in 2026. Launched in 1992, the Sixes enjoyed runs from 1992–97 and 2001–12 before a hiatus, with only a one‑off 2017 tournament sandwiched in between, and it was revived in 2024 at its current Tin Kwong Road home after moving from the Kowloon Cricket Club.
This year’s Sixes is again set to feature eight major cricket nations and four associate members, although the exact line‑up remains to be confirmed. In 2025, defending champions Sri Lanka had to settle for the bowl title, while Hong Kong triumphed in the secondary plate competition after Aizaz Khan smashed 30 off the final over in a tense victory against Bangladesh, and Pakistan ended a 14‑year title drought by crushing surprise finalists Kuwait. The tournament’s blend of big‑name teams, emerging associate sides and high‑voltage action has helped cement its reputation as a marquee event in the global short‑format calendar.
Backed by “M” Mark funding from the government’s Major Sports Events Committee for the third straight year, the 2026 Sixes is set to amplify its festival atmosphere with a dedicated fan village offering entertainment, food, drinks, and family‑friendly activities around the matches. CHKC has emphasised that the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes has developed a rich legacy as one of the most innovative and entertaining formats in the game, with its successful return in 2024 and follow‑up in 2025 attracting sell‑out crowds, international broadcast audiences, and top cricketing talent, and organisers now see the event firmly re‑established as a standout fixture on the global cricket circuit.
