ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024: People's Republic of China wins 11th straight men’s title
Olympic singles champion Ma Long won the third and final match of the tie to beat France 3-0 for his ninth gold medal at the championships. China captured a record-extending 23rd world team title in Busan, Republic of Korea on Sunday (25 February).
People's Republic of China swiftly defeated France to win an unprecedented 23rd ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Busan, Republic of Korea, on Sunday (25 February).
The Chinese won the contest in straight games (3-0) to win their 11th world team title on the trot and deny France their first gold medal at the championships. The match was a repeat of the 1997 final, with the match again going the way of the Chinese and the French settling for their third silver.
The European side, led by the 20-year-old Alexis Lebrun, showed glimmers of breaking the Chinese’s vice-grip-like hold but could not land the knockout blow.
Lebrun came painstakingly close to upsetting singles world champion Fan Zhendong after his younger brother Felix bowed the knee to Wang Chuqin in straight games in the first match.
The second match was a true battle of attrition, with Lebrun taking a shocking early lead against the Olympic singles silver medallist Fan. The lead seesawed between the two paddlers, with Fan coming back with a vengeance, taking the second game 11-4.
Raising France’s prospects of winning their first world team gold medal, Lebrun won the third game to go 2-1 up. But then Fan claimed a nail-biting fourth game (12-10) before sealing the victory in the fifth (11-7).
In a fitting farewell to the table tennis icon, Ma Long was given the task of securing China its 11th world team championships gold medal.
His big moment started with a slight hiccup, with Simon Gauzy winning the first game 11-7 despite saving four game points. Ma, nicknamed ‘the Dragon’, roared back into the match with a comprehensive 11-2 second-game win. He turned the knife, winning the third and fourth in emphatic fashion, to win his ninth world team gold medal.
