South Korean table tennis sensation Shin Yubin (21-Korean Air) has won her second World Table Tennis (WTT) women’s singles title of the year.

The South Korean defeated Romania’s Bernadette Sötz 4-1 (9-11 11-9 11-9 11-8 11-7) in the women’s singles final of the WTT Contender Lima 2023 in Lima, Peru, on Saturday local time. It was Shin’s second WTT singles title of the year.

Shin, ranked No. 9 by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), dropped the first game to the 16th-ranked Sötz before finding her stride and winning the next four games.

Shin Yubin has been on an unexpected upswing this year. He teamed up with Jeon Ji-hee (Mirae Asset Securities) to win South Korea’s first silver medal in 36 years in the women’s doubles at the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in May, then won both the singles and doubles titles at the Contender Lagos in June.

It was the third singles title of her WTT career, starting with her victory at the Contender Nova Gorica last November.

Shin’s momentum was confirmed by her performance at the tournament. In the quarterfinals, Shin defeated Japan’s top prospect Miwa Harimoto 3-1 in straight sets. Harimoto is the younger brother of Japanese men’s singles standout Tomokazu Harimoto and is a rising star, ranked 14th in the world at the age of 15. Shin lost to Harimoto 2-4 in the women’s singles final at the Contender Tunis in June, her first upset in two months. She also defeated Sötz in the final of this tournament.

Shin also won the women’s doubles final, teaming up with 먹튀검증 Jeon Jeon-hee to defeat Kim Na-young (POSCO International) and Choi Hyo-joo. Shin and Jeon have now won three WTT doubles titles this year, including the Contender Lagos and Contender Zagreb.

Shin’s remarkable form raises expectations for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which begin in September. At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, Jeon’s bronze medal was the best women’s singles result.