In the 2024 Macau Table Tennis Men's World Cup, in the men's singles quarterfinals, Lin Gaoyuan defeated teammate Fan Zhendong 4-2 to advance to the semifinals, with a score of 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7 in six games.
In this fight with Lin Gaoyuan, Fan Zhendong was accidentally injured when he was behind and applied for a medical timeout. According to Fan Zhendong, it was a feeling of "numbness in the hands", and there was a suspicion of oppression. Subsequently, Fan Zhendong still returned to the arena and insisted on finishing the game, the injury was not obvious, but he had no restraint in the face of Lin Gaoyuan's more and more fluent backhand. Liu Guozheng, who served as the commentator of the game on CCTV, said that Fan Zhendong did not carry it when he was leading 8-1 in the fifth game, which affected his state, while Lin Gaoyuan performed well and played too well!
After the game, Lin Gaoyuan talked about the reason for the win, he said that he played better in this game, while the opponent did not play well due to injury, and he was lucky to seize this opportunity. It can be seen that Lin Gaoyuan also faced the problem of Liu Shiwen in the women's singles final of the 2015 Suzhou World Table Tennis Championships.
At that time, when Liu Shiwen was leading, Ding Ning accidentally broke his foot and applied for a medical suspension. Liu Shiwen was uneasy, feeling that she couldn't bear to care about her teammates, but if she cared, it seemed very fake. In the end, in the face of Ding Ning, who returned to the arena in the entanglement, he was distracted, suffered a tragic reversal, and finally lost the championship, which also became a huge turning point in his career.
And when Fan Zhendong's medical treatment was suspended, Lin Gaoyuan seemed to be rare and stable. He didn't think about his opponent, he just calmly thought about how he was going to win. For a fierce opponent like Fan Zhendong, he has to recognize the reality and work hard to fight him, as long as the opponent can insist, there can be no mercy for any subordinates. Now that the Paris Olympic selection deadline is getting closer and closer, if you are soft-hearted with your teammates this time, it will be the greatest cruelty to yourself to compete for an Olympic P card or even team qualification.
Obviously, this time in the face of teammates who applied for a medical suspension, Lin Gaoyuan did not repeat the tragedy of Liu Shiwen. He was decisive and unaffected, and won the most heart-wrenching victory of his World Cup career, which is true maturity.