The China National Games are played every four years – a massive multi-sport event with table tennis as one of the main events. This year the event was held in Macau – and it included not only world number 1 Wang Chuqin and world number 2 Lin Shidong, but also Fan Zhendong, the defending Olympic champion but currently unranked and not playing on the tour.
In the quarterfinals of the men’s singles, Wang Chuqin outlasted Lin Gaoyuan. Fan Zhendong then defeated Sun Zheng. That set up a semi-final between world No. 1 Wang Chuqin and an unranked former world No. 1, Fan Zhendong. In the other half of the draw, Yuan Licen topped Zhou Kai and then world number 2 Lin Shidong topped Zhao Zihao.
Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong have been the match of the tournament so far. Chuqin won the first and third games and Zhendong won the second and fourth. The fifth game broke the pattern, with Zhendong reaching 5 first (5-2) and then ramping up the pressure by working very hard with his footwork to set up big forehands and increase the tempo. Zhendong dominated the second half of the match and took a 3-2 lead as they won that match 11-5.
The action resumed in what turned out to be the decisive game (Game 6). Chuqin won the first four points. Fan then completely turned the tables and ran off 6 in a row. Chuqin pressed Zhendong’s backhand and Zhendong did not shy away from the challenge – hitting big backhand after big backhand. At this point in the match, Zhendong even chose to return short serves with his backhand and played balls into the middle with his backhand. It was also the backhand winner at 10-7 that ended the game – Zhendong taking a ball to his center off the bounce and pulling it deep into the right corner – well out of reach of the left-handed Chuqin’s forehand. The celebration was muted – Zhendong had a fist, but no loud shouts or jumping on the table. For his part, Chuqin walked to shake hands and shake his head. And the audience sang Fan Zhendong’s cheers! Fan Zhendong! That sounded in the arena for minutes as the referees prepared center court for the next match.
Yuan Licen and Lin Shidong were the other semi-final and this one lacked the intensity of the earlier semi-final. The two traded the first two matches, but Lin Shidong outpaced his opponent from then on. Shidong won game three 11-4. The two played tightly early in the fourth game, tied at 6-6 and 8-8, but Shidong closed out the match by playing safe points and giving up speed to focus on control and topspin. Shidong won 11-8 to move the lead to one with three games. In the fifth game, Shidong turned up the intensity and won the first five points en route to an easy 11-7 win, winning the match 4-1.
The men’s final will be played on Saturday.
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