They say the third time's a charm. China's Wang Chuqin has certainly done his part to advance this narrative. The 19-year-old from China has just triumphed in his third attempt at an ITTF World Tour singles championship, claiming the Swedish Open title this Sunday in Stockholm. A young man of undeniable talent, he won the 2018 Youth Olympic Games gold medal over Japanese phenom Tomokazu Harimoto. As a teenager out on the senior tour, Wang had previously met only with frustration. Twice he had reached the final of the Hungarian Open, in 2018 and 2019, only to settle for silver each time. Despite these tantalizing torments, Wang continued to post solid results on the World Tour, rising to a career-high world #22 this October. His lofty ranking notwithstanding, he was still on the outside looking in at the 16 seeded players in Stockholm. The host nation's Kristian Karlsson, ranked a spot below Wang at world #23, received a host's exemption to reserve the 16th and final seed. Required to qualify, Wang calmly clocked in and went to work, wasting no time in dismissing Austria's Alexander Chen, Belgium's Robin Devos and Croatia's Frane Kojic with identical 4-0 scorelines. This landed Wang a spot in the round of 32, pitted against Sweden's Kristian Karlsson. Buoyed by support from the home crowd, Karlsson put up a good fight but was ultimately overwhelmed by Wang, 4-2. In the round of 16, it was a rematch of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games as Wang faced Tomokazu Harimoto. It was a different year but the same result, as Wang got his broom back in gear to post a 4-0 sweep. In the quarterfinals, Wang met his countryman and fellow qualifier Zhao Zihao. Despite their similar storylines, Wang afforded Zhao no mercy. Another 4-0 decision was the result. This placed the young upstart in the semifinals where he met another compatriot, Liang Jingkun, who had just defeated world #1 Xu Xin. Unimpressed, Wang summarily swept the world #8 aside to claim his improbable spot in the finals. There, he met yet another Chinese teammate, namely Lin Gaoyuan, a fellow left-hander ranked fourth in the world. Surely someone could offer Wang some resistance? Not this time, it turned out, as Lin Gaoyuan met a familiar fate, falling to Wang, (11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9). "I performed very well today," said Wang after claiming his first ITTF World Tour title. "There have been surprises along the way; most of the players I have beaten have been highly ranked, powerful players. I have waited a long time for this title and finally I succeeded!" Remarkably, it was only Kristian Karlsson who avoided getting swept by Wang. Did his host's exemption also somehow spare him the broom of doom? Whatever the case may be, it is clear that Wang Chuqin is a force to be reckoned with, and not just at the Hungarian Open. The third time was indeed a charm for Wang, but it is his opponents who fall bewitched by his magic broom.

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