The WTT Macao brought together all the leading Chinese table tennis players and showed some surprising results during the tournament.
This tournament had $800 000 distributed in the prize money and featured 14 Chinese players and one player from Hong Kong and Macao. Local player Cheong Chi Cheng was quickly knocked out of the tournament by the current World champion Fan Zhendong. Hong Kong’s Lam Siu Hang got one set from Lin Gaoyuan but eventually lost 1-3 in the Round of 16.
The next round brought some surprises and upsets. The 21-year old Xu Yingbin displayed a truly great performance and knocked out Fan Zhendong 3-1. To a lesser extent, but still a surprise – was the loss of Ma Long to the talented Wang Chuqin 1-3. The 3-time World champion in singles looked strong in the first round against Liang Jingkun, but could not cope with his younger China teammate.
The semi-finals were less exciting in terms of surprising results since Xu Yingbin was quickly beaten by Lin Gaoyuan in just four sets, and the experienced Xu Xin was knocked out by Wang Chuqin 4-1.
Fortunately, the final was a more exciting spectacle for the fans in Macao. Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Chuqin both had some great winning rallies, and there was no clear favorite heading into the final. Both players displayed a great will to win the trophy, and the winner had to be decided in the 7th set.
The final set turned out to be nerve-wracking for both players and it was intense till the last point. Eventually, Wang Chuqin managed to win the seventh set 11-9 and take the WTT Macao trophy alongside $75 000 check. Overall, this tournament did not disappoint, and the great number of Chinese players guaranteed the fans quality table tennis.
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Table Tennis Media 