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Fan seals triple win at World Cup
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World No. 1 Fan Zhendong ensured there was no dramatic ending to the ITTF men鈥檚 World Cup in Chengdu, southwest China鈥檚 Sichuan Province, yesterday, beating Japanese teenage sensation Harimoto Tomokazu 4-2 in the final to lift the trophy.
It is the third title for Fan at the annual major tournament, which is considered as one of the top three events among paddlers alongside the Olympic Games and the world championships.
Facing an opponent who had stunned Olympic champion Ma Long in the semifinals earlier in the day, Fan was forced to play all out as the defending champion found himself throwing away a 7-4 lead to lose the first set 11-9.
Fan, 22, then made short work of his 16-year-old opponent, taking the second set 11-4, but found it far from easy to put him away as Harimoto pulled a set back by winning the third 11-6.
Raising the level of his game, Fan then won three sets in a row, 11-8, 11-2, 11-7 to wrap up the victory.
鈥淚t has been quite different from my first World Cup victory,鈥 Fan, who won the 2016 and 2018 World Cup before Sunday鈥檚 triumph, told a post-match press conference.
鈥淚 realized that the situation has changed in the past three years. I鈥檓 no longer the surprise figure to the world鈥檚 veteran players but the No. 1 target for the younger generation.
鈥淲ith more eyes on me, I have to be humble, stay focused and play more impressive table tennis,鈥 he added.
At the awards ceremony, the Chinese table tennis association president Liu Guoliang handed Fan the gold medal and told him 鈥渢o do the same next year,鈥 referring to the prospects of Fan winning the gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
鈥淚鈥檓 very thankful to President Liu, my former head coach, for life guidance, as always,鈥 Fan said. 鈥淚 thank him for having faith in me and that鈥檚 my expectation, too, for next year.鈥
鈥淚 know better, however, that I have to be more focused on what happens at the right moment and be more specific on the details of every match and training session ahead of the Olympic Games,鈥 he added.
Earlier, second-seeded Ma lost his second match of the day, falling 4-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 4-11 to World Cup debutant Lin Yun-ju of Chinese Taipei to finish fourth at the tournament.
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