Table tennis is known as the "national sport" in China, it is not only a competitive sport, but also a cultural symbol, carrying the sportsmanship and cultural self-confidence of the Chinese nation. In the 2024 Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, the Chinese table tennis team once again showed strong strength, and they swept all 5 gold medals in this tournament, which can be described as the "return of the king" on the field.
National table tennis got off to a good start in the mixed doubles event
On May 9, the mixed doubles final kicked off the final of the Saudi Grand Slam tournament. In this civil war competition, the Chinese pair Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha defeated the Hong Kong pair Wong Chun Ting/To Hoi Kim with an absolute advantage of 3:0 and won the first gold medal of this tournament for the national table tennis.
From the start of the match, Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha showed strong attacking power, and they formed an effective pressure on their opponents in the service link. In the first game, Wang Chuqin made many efforts to win in the forehand position, and Sun Yingsha showed excellent handle quality in the backhand position, and the two sides cooperated tacitly to quickly open the score to 11:6 to take the lead. In the second game, Huang Zhenting/Du Kaiqin increased their counterattack, the two sides went back and forth, and the battle situation on the court was once stalemate, but in the key points, Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha's experience prevailed, and they won 11:6 and the next city, leading 2:0 by a big score.
In the third game, Huang Zhenting/Du Kaiqin fought with their backs, they showed all their strength, and launched a fierce tug-of-war with Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha. The fighting between the two sides brought the atmosphere to a climax, and every point needed to be won through tenacious attacks. Wong Chun Ting/To Hoi Kim's determination was slowly eroded by a big score, and they fell behind 6-11, while Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha sealed the mixed doubles title with an aggregate score of 3-0.
After the game, Wang Chuqin couldn't hide his excitement, "It's really nice to be able to win the championship on my birthday." Sun Yingsha said, "We have a tacit understanding with Datou, we trust each other very much, and this is also the key to our victory." ＂
Chen Meng/Wang Manyu defeated the Korean pair
The women's doubles final staged a showdown between China and South Korea. China's Chen Meng/Wang Manyu took on South Korea's Tian Zhixi/Shin Yubin, and the two sides were evenly matched, and no one could say who would have the last laugh.
From the beginning of the match, Chen Meng/Wang Manyu showed great concentration, they played extremely aggressively on the serve end, and pressed their opponents many times to form scoring opportunities. In the first game, Chen Meng scored many times in the backhand position, and Wang Manyu made a moderate effort in the forehand position, and the two sides cooperated smoothly and took the lead 11:6. In the second game, Tian Zhixi/Shen Yubin stepped up their counterattack, and the two sides launched a protracted tug-of-war, but in the key points, Chen Meng/Wang Manyu's experience prevailed, and they won 11:6 again, leading 2:0 by a big score.
In the third game, Tian Zhixi/Shen Yubin fought against the water, they showed tenacious fighting spirit and launched a desperate fight with Chen Meng/Wang Manyu. The fighting between the two sides brought the atmosphere to a climax, and every point needed to be won through tenacious attacks. Tian Zhixi/Shin Yubin's determination was slowly eroded by a large score of 7 down, they fell behind 10:12, and Chen Meng/Wang Manyu locked up the Women's Doubles title with an aggregate score of 3:0.
After the game, Chen Meng couldn't hide his excitement, "To be able to win the championship in such a competition, our hard work has finally paid off." Wang Manyu said, "Although we are temporarily behind the Korean pair in the world rankings, we have proved our strength through this victory. ＂
Ma Long/Wang Chuqin men's doubles king
In the Men's Doubles final, China's Ma Long/Wang Chuqin took on Japan's Hayasuke Togami/Shinozuka Daito, but the Japanese duo have performed well in previous matches and they are by no means easy opponents.
From the start of the match, Ma Long/Wang Chuqin showed strong attacking power, and they formed an effective pressure on their opponents in the service link. In the first game, Ma Long made many efforts to win in the forehand position, and Wang Chuqin showed excellent handle quality in the backhand position, and the two sides cooperated tacitly to quickly open the score to 11:6 to take the lead. In the second game, Hayasuke Togami/Shinozuka Daden increased their counterattack, and the two sides went back and forth, and the battle situation on the field was once stalemate, but in terms of key points, Ma Long/Wang Chuqin's experience prevailed, and they won 11:5 and then went to the next city, leading 2:0 by a big score.
In the third game, Hayasuke Togami/Shinozuka Daito fought back, and they showed all their strength and launched a fierce tug-of-war with Ma Long/Wang Chuqin. The fighting between the two sides brought the atmosphere to a climax, and every point needed to be won through tenacious attacks. Hayasuke Togami/Daito Shinozuka's determination was slowly eroded by a big score, and they fell behind 9-11, while Ma Long/Wang Chuqin sealed the Men's Doubles title with an aggregate score of 3-0.
After the game, Ma Long couldn't hide his excitement, "To be able to win the Grand Slam doubles championship with Wang Chuqin again, this honor belongs to the two of us." Wang Chuqin said, "With Brother Long's tacit understanding, we trust each other, which is also the key to our victory." ＂
Chen Meng defeated Sun Yingsha to win the women's singles championship
The women's singles final is a pure national table tennis civil war, Chen Meng vs. Sun Yingsha, the two are of equal strength, and no one can say who can have the last laugh. Chen Meng showed excellent form in the previous competition, she passed all the way, defeated Japan's first-line main players Miu Hirano, Miwa Zhang and Hina Hayata, and held the "foreign war" defense line of national table tennis in the women's singles event, giving her great confidence.
At the beginning of the game, the two sides launched a fierce attack, Chen Meng played extremely actively on the serve, and Sun Yingsha showed excellent handle quality in the backhand position. In the first game, Sun Yingsha had the upper hand in the middle and late stages, and she scored 6 points in a row to overtake and widen the difference, and finally took the next city 11:6. In the second game, Chen Meng quickly adjusted her state, and she quickly won the game with a wave of 4:0 and a wave of 5:0, and pulled back a city with 11:5.
In the third game, Chen Meng took the initiative again, she scored 4 points in a row after 4 draws to open up the difference, and scored 2 points in a row at 9:8, and won the next city at 11:8, and the score was overtaken. In the fourth game, Sun Yingsha scored 5 points in a row when she was 0:1 behind, and Chen Meng scored 3 points in a row when she was 7:8 and 9:8 behind, and finally pulled back a city at 11:9, and the score expanded to 3:1. In the fifth game, Sun Yingsha scored 5 points in a row at 3:2 to expand the lead, and finally pulled back a game at 11:6, bringing the total score to 3:2.
In the deciding game, Chen Meng scored 5 points in a row at 0:1 to overtake, and at 6:4 to score another 4 points, and got the match point at 10:4. Although Sun Yingsha saved 4 match points in a row, Chen Meng still won the game with 11:8 and finally won the women's singles championship with a total score of 4:2.
After the game, Chen Meng cried with joy, "To win the championship in such a competition, my hard work has finally paid off." Sun Yingsha said, "Chen Meng's performance is really good, I will continue to work hard, and look forward to the next showdown with her." ＂
Wang Chuqin won three crowns on his birthday night
The men's singles final is the finale of this Saudi Grand Slam tournament, and Chinese star Wang Chuqin will face the German powerhouse Francesca. Wang Chuqin has been in excellent form in previous tournaments, not only winning the mixed doubles and men's doubles events, but also winning the treble for himself.
At the beginning of the match, Wang Chuqin showed strong offensive power, and he formed an effective pressure on his opponent in the service link. In the first game, Wang Chuqin made many efforts in the forehand position, Francesca's backhand advantage was unable to start, and the score between the two sides was quickly stretched to 11:2, and Wang Chuqin took the lead. In the second game, Francesca stepped up his counterattack, but Wang Chuqin's backhand was of extremely high quality, and he quickly stretched the score to 5:1, and finally won 11:7 again, leading 2:0.
In the third game, Wang Chuqin extended his offensive rhythm, he forced Francesca to ask for a timeout at 5:2, but after the timeout came back, Wang Chuqin's state was still excellent, and he won 11:5 again, and the score expanded to 3:0. In the fourth game, Francesca finally found some touch, and the two sides launched a protracted tug-of-war, with the score tied many times, and finally Francesca pulled one back at 11:8.
In the fifth game, Francesca's state became more and more courageous, he led by 4 points in a row at the beginning, although Wang Chuqin tied 5 times, but finally fell behind 10:12, and the big score was pulled to 3:2. In the deciding game, Wang Chuqin led 3:0 at the beginning, and after Francesca chased to 4 draws, Wang Chuqin played two waves of 3:0 successively, and finally locked the victory with 11:6, and won the men's singles championship with a big score of 4:2.
In this way, Wang Chuqin has won the mixed doubles, men's doubles and men's singles championships in this Saudi Grand Slam tournament, becoming the biggest winner. After the game, Wang Chuqin couldn't hide his excitement, "It's really a great gift to be able to win three championships on my birthday." He added, "Francesca is a fantastic opponent, we have a fantastic match, and I will continue to work hard to fight for the next goal." ＂