Image source: Official Weibo of the World Table Tennis Federation.

　　In the just-concluded mixed doubles final of the 2022 WTT Macau Championship, the "Xinwen Hookup" combination Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin defeated teammates Fan Zhendong and Kuaiman 3:0 to win the first international competition of the new season.

　　Today is Fan Zhendong's 25th birthday. The organizing committee carefully prepared a birthday cake and flowers for him, and also broadcasted his game highlights to express his blessings.

　　But it is a little regrettable that Fan Zhendong stopped in the quarterfinals in singles today, and missed the championship in mixed doubles.

However, he won the silver medal for the first time as a partner. The combination of Fan Zhendong and Kuaiman is worth looking forward to in the future.

Fan Zhendong and Kuaiman in the competition Image source: ICphoto

　　The WTT Macau Tournament is the first international competition that the Chinese table tennis team participated in this year. Seven Olympic champions including Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Liu Shiwen, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha all participated.

　　In this competition, the new mixed doubles combination of Fan Zhendong and Kuaiman performed impressively and was eye-catching.

Especially during the promotion process, they defeated Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, the gold medal team of the World Table Tennis Championships who had been very popular before the match, after losing a game first. This victory was very valuable.

　　Fans also gave the pair a new name - "Dongfeng Kuai Di".

Data map: Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Gang

　　In the mixed doubles final, the opponent of "Dongfeng Kuaidi" was the experienced "Xinwen Hookup" group.

After experiencing the regret of losing the Tokyo Olympics and the joy of reaching the top podium in the Shaanxi National Games, the old partners Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen started anew and embarked on the journey of the new season.

　　This is a veritable "new and old duel".

Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen are both seasoned veterans in mixed doubles, while Fan Zhendong and Kuai Man are partnering for the first time, and Kuai Man is the youngest national table tennis player in this competition.

　　Judging from the game process, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen used their experience to suppress the momentum of Fan Zhendong and Kuai Man.

11:6, 11:6, 11:5, "Xinwen Hookup" won cleanly.

After the game, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen first expressed their wishes for Fan Zhendong's birthday.

The two also expressed their happiness for winning the first championship of the new season.

Data map: Photo by Fan Zhendong, China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan

　　However, for Fan Zhendong, this birthday left some regrets.

Because in the men's singles quarterfinals in the afternoon, Fan Zhendong lost 1:3 to the "post-00" teenager Xu Yingbin.

In the mixed doubles final, he missed the championship again.

　　Like most birthdays in the past, Fan Zhendong's 25th birthday was still spent in training games.

Three games a day, two mixed doubles and one singles, just like Fan Zhendong said, he doesn't have much time to think about his birthday.

　　A temporary loss is not a bad thing.

I hope Fan Zhendong has a good rest and adjusts his state, hope that "Dongfeng Kuaidi" will bring more surprises in the future, and hope that "Xinwen Hookup" can continue to move forward.

National table tennis come on!