China’s Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen claimed the title by beating down Ito Mima/Mizutani Jun from Japan 3-1 here on Saturday in the mixed doubles final at ITTF German Open.
In the match between the Asian veteran pairs, Xu/Liu pulled off the first game 12-10, despite being down 9-10. The lead doubled for Xu/Liu, as they won the second game 13-11 in 10 minutes. The top Japanese mixed doubles duo hit back in the third game, winning 11-7.
In the supreme display of their tandem, Xu and Liu kept up their barrage of shots on their opponents, not giving them any room to work with at all and winning the first gold medal here in Germany 12-10, 13-11, 7-11, 11-7.
With the victory though, the Chinese pair seemed not to be satisfied with their performance. “I had some mistakes in responding the serves and did not take control the pace of the games,” said Liu, “sometimes I was a bit hesitated but not stable enough at the table.”
“We did win the game but not in an easy way,” said Xu, “we’re a bit nervous in the first world tournament this season. We could have done some details better under the pressure.”
Xu Xin (1st L)/Liu Shiwen (2nd L) of China and Mizutani Jun (2nd R)/Ito Mima (1st R) of Japan pose for photos during the awarding ceremony after their mixed doubles final at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open in Magdeburg, Germany on Feb. 1, 2020. (Photo by Binh Truong/Xinhua)
