On September 21, in the men's team final of the 14th National Games in Yan'an, Shaanxi, Guangdong defeated the Beijing team 3-1 and won the championship.
The picture shows Fan Zhendong celebrating after his victory over Ma Long.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang
(Shaanxi National Games) Feature: "Mountain climber" Fan Zhendong, "crossing Guanshan" in the National Games arena
China News Service, Yan'an, September 22 (Reporter Wang Yu) After nearly two months, "the strongest on the surface" table tennis expert Ma Long and Fan Zhendong met again in the finals.
But this time, Fan Zhendong did not let regret repeat itself.
On the evening of the 21st, in the final of the 14th National Games Table Tennis Men's Team, Fan Zhendong defeated Ma Long 3-2 in the fourth match, helping the Guangdong team defeat the Beijing team and winning the men's team championship again after 24 years.
The boiling Yan'an University Gymnasium witnessed a battle called "transformation".
Fan Zhendong walked out of the arena surrounded by his teammates, while looking to the sky, he finally waited for the long-awaited new starting point.
During the Tokyo Olympics cycle, Fan Zhendong has always been waiting for an opportunity to achieve a comprehensive surpass in his career, so that he is no longer a chaser who can only look forward to facing Malone.
But the opportunity rushed in, but it was fleeting.
At the 2017 Düsseldorf World Table Tennis Championships, Fan Zhendong lost to Malone and ranked second in the men's singles; in the men's singles final of the Tokyo Olympic Games, Fan Zhendong faced Malone and swallowed the bitter fruit of defeat.
Even in the National Games arena, the "curse" also exists.
In the 2013 National Games men's singles final, Malone defeated the young Fan Zhendong 4:3.
Four years later in the National Games men's singles final, Fan Zhendong lost again, watching Ma Long become the first person to win the National Games table tennis men's singles champion.
Guanshan is difficult to overcome, who is sorrowful and lost.
Some people can't help but sigh that there are not many opportunities left for Fan Zhendong.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Malone never gave a clear answer about the future.
But it is obvious that the duel between the two has entered a "countdown".
The story of Fan Zhendong and Ma Long may stay in a certain future competition, or it may be the field that just passed the night.
Malone, who is about to be 33 years old, has an 18-year national team career and holds 25 world championships. He is a "Grand Slam" in the table tennis and a benchmark that leads the current men's table tennis. Group gold medal.
With the same desire for victory, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong met in the men's team final of the National Games.
The direct dialogue between the two also brought a perfect end to the men's team competition of the National Games.
On September 21, in the men's team final of the 14th National Games in Yan'an, Shaanxi, Guangdong defeated the Beijing team 3-1 and won the championship.
The picture shows Fan Zhendong (left) and Ma Long (right) in the game.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang
In the final that night, the cheers on the scene were chaotic and noisy, and fans cheered one after another, but they all seemed to be perfectly blocked from the arena.
The two people who fought in the arena, holding their breath and thinking active, patiently searched for the fleeting flaws in their opponents, and delivered a fatal blow.
Same as before, this time, it is still Malone who has the upper hand.
In the deciding game, he used his changeable tactics to completely contain Fan Zhendong, and continued to expand his lead-2:0, 5:2, until 10:6 to get the match point.
If you look back on more of the duel between Fan Zhendong and Ma Long, it is not difficult to find that every time such a scene occurs, most of it will point to an ending-the confident Ma Long will have the leeway to clean up this long-destined "endgame."
But Fan Zhendong's change also kicked off from this moment.
He chased 4 points tenaciously to tie the score.
As Fan Zhendong twisted and pulled backhand, the ball spun towards Malone at high speed. The latter couldn't react enough to knock the ball into the air. After saving 5 match points, Fan Zhendong finally won with difficulty.
After the game, Ma Long gave Fan Zhendong a heartfelt compliment: "Both sides played at a very high level in this game. Competitive sports have lost and won. I don't know what the result will be until the last ball. Fan Zhendong did it today. What he should do, so he deserves to win this game."
Fan Zhendong once sighed that the years seemed to leave no trace on Ma Long's body.
But the legend is not unsurpassable, and the successors have never stopped catching up.
This victory proved that Fan Zhendong can not only win, but also win beautifully in the face of Ma Long.
The "mountain" that once pressed Fan Zhendong's heart is invisible, and the gap between victory and defeat is often within a single thought.
"I think faith is more important than skills and tactics. Every time I fight with him, I am very eager to win. Although I have not done it many times, it does not affect my determination and confidence."
When asked whether this game will become the most memorable game of his career, Fan Zhendong gave a positive answer without hesitation, but he quickly added "one".
Indeed, as a 24-year-old young athlete and the undoubted leader of the national table tennis men's singles in the future, Fan Zhendong looks forward to and firmly believes that his future is still infinite possibilities.
"The winner is powerful, and the self-victor is strong."
This night, Fan Zhendong crossed the once insurmountable "mountain" with firm belief.
(over)