Once again, Fan Zhendong stands alone.
Fan took down Lin Shidong (Men’s Singles No. 2) 4-1 to win the men’s singles title at China’s 15th National Games on Sunday. This is Fan’s sixth men’s singles crown in this event, his fourth in the last six years.
Fan started the match with an 11-9 victory in the first game, which came after scoring seven consecutive points. Lin won the second game, 11-8, to tie the match at one game apiece.
From that moment onward, this match was all Fan’s. Fan pummeled Lin in three straight games, winning 11-5 in the third game, 11-3 in the fourth game and 11-4 in the fifth game to clinch his latest gold medal.
In addition to his National Games success, Fan is a three-time Olympic gold medal winner, a two-time World Champion and a four-time World Cup winner in men’s singles. He’s the 11th player in table tennis history to earn a Grand Slam, which means winning gold in men’s singles for all three events.
Fan, a former World No. 1, was widely regarded as one of the sport’s top players before withdrawing from international competition in Dec. 2024. Wang Chuqin held the top men’s singles spot during Fan’s exodus, and Wang and Lin have been the only two male players to achieve that ranking ever since.
Fan reached the finals after taking down Wang in six games on Saturday. Wang beat Yuan Licen (Men’s Singles No. 108) in five games (11-9, 11-8, 4-11, 11-5, 11-7) in the consolation match earlier that day.
Fan currently plays for 1. FC Saarbrücken - TT of Table Tennis Bundesliga, and he is a strategic investor in Major League Table Tennis (MLTT).
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