Miu Hirano outlasted reigning world champion Sun Yingsha of China 4-3 in the women's singles final of the Contender Zagreb table tennis tournament in Croatia on Sunday.
Hirano won 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 14-12, 11-6. Sun has been at the top of the world rankings since July 2022 and won the women's singles at the world championships in South Africa in May.
Sun had defeated Hirano in all four of their previous meetings, according to the International Table Tennis Federation.
In the race among Japanese players for two women's singles spots at next year's Paris Olympics, Hirano is placed second behind Hina Hayata, who lost to Sun in the semifinals a day earlier.