ITFF World Championships 2023: Fan Zhendong retains men's title, Sun Yingsha upsets Olympic champion Chen Meng for women's singles crown – Results
The People’s Republic of China claimed a clean sweep of titles at the ITFF World Championships Finals 2023 winning all five gold medals on offer in Durban, South Africa.
Table Tennis
Fang Zhendong of the People's Republic of China retained the men's singles crown with a 4-2 (8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10, 11-13, 11-3) victory over compatriot Wang Chuqin at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2023 in Durban, South Africa, on Sunday (28 May).
Sun Yingsha won the women’s title with a 4-2 (5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6) triumph over Olympic champion Chen Meng.
The Chinese hegemony in the sport was restored after a hiccup two years ago where they failed to make it into the final of the men’s doubles. The table tennis powerhouse will leave South African shores with the full set of gold medals – the men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
The men’s singles final was a battle of attrition as the world number one and two came up against each other for a shot at the crown. A fired-up Wang drew first blood to put the defending champion on the backfoot.
Fan absorbed the pressure to take the second and prevailed in the third to take the lead for the first time in the match (2-1). With his tail up, Fan looked the more composed player in a battle of nerves. The lead seesawed in the fourth, but Fan kept his cool to extend his lead to 3-1.
Fan then turned up the heat in the fifth game, taking a commanding 10-5 lead which looked unscalable for Wang. But Wang launched a tenacious comeback saving five championship points to win the game (3-2). The fightback seemed to have drained the rising star, with Fan drawing on his experience to win the sixth game with relative ease.
Wang was on the cusp of becoming the first-ever male player to win a triple crown in world championships history after winning the mixed doubles and the men’s doubles titles.
But the glory belonged to Fan, winning back-to-back singles titles and added a second gold to the mixed doubles title he won with Wang.
“I am very satisfied with my achievements here. I have achieved a lot in the process. I have seen a lot of ups and downs throughout the journey and I could feel myself playing better towards the later rounds,” Fan said.
“In terms of mentality, I found myself become more and more mature. I am really delighted to walk away with these two titles (singles and doubles).”
Sun Yingsha claims maiden singles title
The women’s final pitted the leading protagonists against each other, with little separating the two paddlers from China. World number one Sun came into the contest with the wind at her back winning four out of her five matches without dropping a game.
While Sun is considered the in-form player, Chen has demonstrated her temperament for the big stage having won the Olympic Games gold medal and the ITTF Women’s World Cup. Both players had a point to prove after stumbling at the final hurdle, Sun settling for silver in 2021 and Chen finishing second in 2019.
The Olympic champion won a maiden World championships gold in the women’s doubles, while Sun clinched the mixed doubles title.
Chen struck the first blow taking the lead following a dominant first game, but momentum soon swung in her compatriot’s favour. Sun won the next three games to give her a commanding lead before Sun salvaged the fifth to potentially level the scores.
But Sun proved too strong as she dropped to the floor in celebration after winning the sixth game to clinch her first world singles title.
“I am really delighted to have won this final against Chen Meng. In the last few encounters, I have lost a few times but to me this is really a breakthrough in terms of my performance,” Sun said.
“I am lucky because there were crucial moments that I was able to execute well. So I am lucky to have secured this victory. There are still many areas I need to review and improve upon. I will continue to work hard and do better in the future.”