Fan Zhendong
Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng emerged men’s and women’s champions as China swept away all titles except the mixed doubles at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open yesterday.
At Aspire Academy Hall, Chinese stars also won the men’s and women’s doubles titles while Japan emerged mixed doubles champions earlier on Saturday.
In the blockbuster final, top seed Zhendong beat Englishman Liam Pitchford 4-2 (11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7) to claim his second Qatar Open men’s singles crown.
The title clash between the 2018 winner Zhengdong and the former World Championship bronze medallist Pitchford, was a treat for the spectators at the Doha venue as it featured a number of fast-paced rallies.
One of the standout performers in Doha in the lead up to the final, Pitchford initially struggled against the four-time world champion Zhendong who held a two-game lead
However, Pitchford bounced back in the third game by troubling his opponent with his pace to claim a 11-8 win. Fan came back strongly, using his incredible power to respond immediately 11-4 to move two games ahead.
Pitchford, who had a dream run in Qatar which took him to the final after beating World no.1 Xu Xin in the semi-final, won his second game with a 11-6 margin.
However, the Chinese superstar was too good for him in the next one as he claimed a 11-7 win to collect his 14th men’s singles title on the ITTF World Tour.
Earlier, in the women’s singles final, Meng emerged the rightful holder of the title after successfully coming out on top against Mima Ito by a 4-1 score-line (3-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7).
Mima had a brilliant start when she created stunning pace which was too hot to handle for two-time Qatar Open champion Meng to win the opening game by a dominant 11-3 margin.
However, Meng, who won the Doha titles in 2012 and 2017, proved that she can do a lot better than that in the next few games.
Back to back strong displays from Meng piled the pressure on her third seeded counterpart as she went on to win China’s fourth championship title of the event.
