Fan Zhendong returns a shot in the men’s singles final on November 29, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Photo: VCG
Chinese team pockets four gold medals at World Table Tennis Championships
The Chinese table tennis team claimed four gold medals at the just ended 2021 World Table Tennis Championships held in Houston, Texas.
On Monday, Chinese top seed Fan Zhendong won a gold medal in the men’s singles after beating 19-year-old Swedish player Truls Moregard 4-0. Moregard ranks 77th in the world and once shocked German evergreen Timo Boll in the semifinals.
“I’m really happy,” the world No.1 player told World Table Tennis. This is the first singles gold medal for the 24-year-old Fan at the World Table Tennis Championships.
He added that he was “really feeling nervous before the match because I wanted to win for my team and country. With this latest win, I’ll be looking ahead with more confidence as I continue to develop.”
This is not the first time that China has defeated Sweden at the Championships. At the Championships held in Hungary in 2019, Chinese leading table tennis player Ma Long defeated Swedish player Mattias Falck to complete his three consecutive world championship streak.
Moregard has underlined his growing credentials with sterling performances all week, stunning his more illustrious opponents, including Boll, Ahmed Saleh, Chuang Chih-yuan, Patrick Franziska, Lim Jonghoon and Quadri Aruna.
‘No losers’
Also on Monday, Chinese table tennis player Wang Manyu defeated her teammate Sun Yingsha 4-2 to win the women’s singles.
“I’m really excited – I don’t think there are any losers tonight,” Wang told World Table Tennis.
“Yingsha and I are very good friends and we inspired each other to give our best. I want to thank her for putting up a good fight and then to all the fans who have been supporting us.
“We prepared for every difficulty that we could have met in this match. We tried to just play our way in the match. Thank you to all the fans who supported us.”
Wang Manyu reacts in the women’s singles final on November 29, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Photo: VCG
The 21-year-old Wang had earlier showed her skills to the world after beating her compatriot, the world No.1 Chen Meng, in the semifinals 4-3.
Though this is the first gold medal in women’s singles for Wang, this is the 14th consecutive win for the Chinese national table tennis in the women’s singles at the Championships.
“Despite this defeat, I’m pleased I’m able to reach the final. Congratulations to Wang who deserves this victory. We are very familiar with each other, but I made several mistakes during this match and she played better than me today. I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received and will continue to work hard,” said Sun.
Wang pocketed another gold medal, this time alongside Sun, in the women’s doubles earlier on Monday, by overcoming Japanese rivals Hina Hayata and Mima Ito 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-8).
On Sunday, Chinese duo Wang Chuqin and Sun outplayed their Japanese opponents Hina Hayata and Tomokazu Harimoto 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-8) to take the mixed doubles crown.
Disappointment
The only disappointment for the Chinese team might be the loss of the men’s doubles.
On Monday, Swedish table tennis players Kristian Karlsson and Mattias Falck won the men’s doubles final match against South Korea’s Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon.
The Swedish combination defeated top seeds Lin Gaoyuan/Liang Jingkun of China in Sunday’s semifinal, after overcoming Fan Zhendong/Wang Chuqin in Saturday’s quarterfinal clash.
This marked a glorious moment for the Swedish table tennis team to win the championship again after 30 years. Sweden claimed one gold and one silver at the Championships, surpassing Japan to rank second.
Amid the 50th anniversary of the “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” between China and the US, China-US pair Lin Gaoyuan and Lily Zhang won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles.
This bronze medal is the first World Table Tennis Championships medal won by an American since the 1959 Championships in Dortmund, Germany.
Women’s singles gold medalist Wang Manyu (second from left), silver medalist Sun Yingsha (left), and bronze medalists Chen Meng (second from right) and Wang Yidi pose on the podium at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships on November 29, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Photo: VCG
Global Times
