World No. one Wang Hao of China successfully retained his World Cup crown, defeating Germany's Timo Boll 4-1 in the final in Liege, Belgium on Sunday.

Wang, who reached the World Cup final for the fourth time, started with an 11-8 win against Boll.

The 25-year-old Chinese won the second set 11-3 to make it 2-0 in sets, but Boll pulled one set back by taking the third set 16-14.

Wang won the fourth and fifth set 11-7, 11-9 to seal the victory.

Another Chinese player Ma Long beat Greece's Kalinikos Kreanga in the third-place match.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2008)