Zhu dominates compatriot Wang Manyu in women's final while Chinese Taipei teenager Lin caps off stirring run with win over Fan Zhendong

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia, July 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- All hail the new stars as China's Zhu Yuling and Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun-Ju produced scintillating play to secure the men's and women's crowns at the Seamaster T2 Diamond 2019 Malaysia.

If the quality of the matches is any indication, table tennis fans are surely in for a treat in the coming two legs as this innovative singles competition heads to China's Haikou in September before going to Singapore in November.

At the T2Cavern in the Iskandar Malaysia Studios in Johor Bahru, Zhu did not allow compatriot Wang Manyu to settle in as she powered through for the US$100,000 prize money.

Following that, Lin showed no fear against the more illustrious Fan Zhendong as the teenager coupled speed with unerring accuracy to outdo his opponent and prove his earlier wins over Jun Mizutani and Ma Long were no fluke.

Earlier, Ding Ning and Xu Xin secured third places with wins over Miyu Kato and Wong Chun Ting respectively.

ITTF President Thomas Weikert and CEO Steve Dainton attended the final. The tournament marks the first time coloured rubbers and video referral - both ideas from the ITTF Innovation Lab - were used for the first time.

Wang Manyu: "She played her shots well, especially the strong spin she put on the ball. I've improved in many areas since coming here for the T2APAC two years ago but there's still plenty of room for improvement."

Zhu Yuling: "I've fought hard in every match here and the final was a continuation of the form I showed in the earlier matches. I've not played Manyu for a while and felt I executed my game plan better today."

Lin Yun-Ju: "I'm satisfied with how I performed in the final, I fought hard for every point. I shall continue training hard and hope to keep on doing well."

Fan Zhendong: "He played outstandingly and I was not able to get going in the first two games. I won't make excuses for this defeat and it was obvious he was better today, so I will need to go back and work out how to do better."

For more information, please visit www.t2diamond.com.