Wang Chuqin is ITTF’s top-ranked men’s singles player in the world. He’s a three-time Olympic champion and a nine-time world champion. He was the first male player to earn 10,000 points this season, which he achieved after winning a triple crown (Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles trophies in the same event) at WTT China Smash 2025.
And yet, Wang stood little chance against Fan Zhendong, who defeated Wang 4-2 in the men’s singles semifinals during China’s 15th National Games on Saturday.
Wang took the first point of the match after taking down Fan 11-7 in the first game. Fan tied the match after an 11-9 second game victory, but Wang flipped that score in the third game to retake the lead.
He wouldn’t keep it. Fan took the fourth game after another 11-7 victory. And after his 11-5 rout of Wang in the fifth game, Fan put himself one game away from advancing to the finals.
And in that pivotal sixth game, Fan went on a six-point scoring run to put him over Wang, 6-4. That run gave Fan the momentum needed to take that game and the match with a third 11-7 win.
With this win, Fan now boasts a 26-7 record against Fan.
Fan earned his third Olympic gold medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and he has also won two World Championships and a record-tying four World Cups. Fan is just the 11th man in history to win the Men’s Singles title at all three events, more colloquially referred to as a “Grand Slam.”
Fan was one of the top men's singles players in the world until his shocking withdrawal from the rankings. Since his retirement, Fan signed with 1. FC Saarbrucken - TT of Table Tennis Bundesliga and has joined Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) as a strategic investor.
In the gold medal game on Sunday, Fan will face Lin Shidong (Men’s Singles No. 2), the only other player besides Wang to have been the top-ranked Men’s Singles player in 2025. Wang will play Yuan Licen (Men’s Singles No. 108) for the bronze medal on Sunday.
