FAN (CHN) claims third table tennis gold in all-Chinese final

WUHAN (CHN) - China's FAN Zhengdong has claimed his third table tennis gold at Wuhan 2019 as he and team-mate ZHOU Yu beat compatriots ZHOU Kai and XU Chenhao in the men's doubles final on Thursday.

The doubles finals at Wuhan 2019 were an all-Chinese party, as CHEN Ke and MU Zi grabbed the gold in the women's event following a win over teammates LIU Xi and SUN Mingyang. The bronze medal for both genders went to the team of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

For FAN, the men's doubles title meant his third gold medal at Wuhan 2019 after taking gold in the men's team and the mixed doubles event. "We had a hard day today. Our opponent [DPR Korea] in the semi-final really challenged us. Because of the difficulties in the semi-final, me and my team-mate decided on a more comprehensive preparation for the final," said FAN.

"We had set our minds that when, even though we would come to a critical point in the match, we could still win no matter what. And that is what we did."

FAN assured that it hadn't been easy playing against his Chinese team-mates.

"I have played a lot of matches against [both] Chinese players and foreigners. I am always eager to win the games. But the psychology is different. I feel much more pressure when I play against a foreign player.

"When I play against a Chinese, there is more pressure in terms of skills. We are all familiar with each other so you have to think about the details of a match, on the things you could do to beat them or be better."

After his golden three-peat, the 22-year-old is now preparing himself for possible individual success at Wuhan 2019 as he continues to strive for a spot in Saturday's men's singles final.

"I have already spent a lot of energy with all the matches I've played, but I think that is the same for everyone. I have very high expectations of myself and would want to leave with no regrets for the future," said FAN.

The table tennis competition continues on Friday with the men's and women's singles events at the Wuhan Five Rings Sports Center Gymnasium.

(Source: Xinhua Info)