Site Products

Fan Zhendong Wins in Chongqing

(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)

That last two players to hold the World’s No. 1 ranking faced off in the Finals of the WTT Champions Chongqing – with Fan Zhendong topping Wang Chuqin for the $35,000 prize. Fan entered the event at No. 4, his lowest position in nine years (since June of 2015).  Perhaps more important to Fan than the cash prize is the 1000 ITTF Ranking Points awarded to the winner – which should be sufficient to vault him back up to No. 2 (leaping past Liang Jingkun and ma Long).

Fan Zhendong started the Final on fire, winning two tight games 11-9, 11-9, and then dominating the third game 11-2.  However, the momentum shifted in the fourth game, and then the fifth (an 8-11, and then a 6-11 pair of wins for Chuqin).  By the end of the next game (8-11), the match was tied 3-3 and all of the momentum was with Wang Chuqin.  But Fan Zhendong dominated the final game 11-4, never letting the World No. 1 get comfortable.  An entertaining final featuring the World’s best two table tennis players.

Earlier in the tournament, Fan logged wins over  No. 11 and Harimoto and No. 6 Calderano – and, of course, a win over World No. 1 Wang Chuqin as well.  For his part, Chuqin had a clean tournament, winning all three of his knock out matches, though he was pushed in his 3-2 win over Matsushima, and he was down (briefly) in his Semifinal 4-2 win over Dang Qiu.

Liang Jingkun fell in the Quarters.  He never really hit full stride, falling behind to Alexis Lebrun before coming back for a 3-2 win in the Round of 16, and then losing to Hugo Calderano in 2-3 in the Quarters.  Germany had four entrants – with Franziska falling 1-3 to Woojin in the opening round, Boll falling 2-3 to Felix Lebrun in the Round of 16, and Ovtcharov falling to Calderano 2-3 in the Round of 16.  The fourth player, Dang Qiu, was the only one not leaving Chongqing disappointed – he topped USA’s Kanak Jha 3-2, then Jang Woojin 3-1, then Felix Lebrun 3-2, before falling in the Semifinals to World No. 1 Wang Chuqin 2-4.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.

Latest News

Racket Up All the Time

July 18, 2025
Robot will play RANDOM top spin balls to 2/3 of the table (Backhand), Forehand topspin from Forehand/ middle… Read More

Keep the Swing as Compact as Possible

July 16, 2025
Robot will play RANDOM top spin balls to 2/3 of the table (Backhand, only Forehand topspin from this… Read More

Reviewing Bugller with Logan Rietz

July 15, 2025
(by: Logan Rietz) I love pips.  I like chopping with them, hitting with them, anything I can do… Read More

Keep Your Elbow Closer to Your Body

July 14, 2025
WAIT FUNCTION: Serve long serve to elbow and Robot plays topspin to Forehand, Forehand spin block or counter… Read More

#3 High toss serve that disrupts the opponent’s rhythm and leads to a quick attack

July 14, 2025
[Feature] [Special feature] America’s star! Jha’s strong points #3 High toss serve that disrupts the opponent’s rhythm and… Read More

Ten Tips for Faster Footwork

July 14, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Tie your shoes tight so there’s less give when you move. Grippy shoes on non-grippy… Read More

Rogelio Castro – Third Ball Attack

July 14, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Rogelio Castro is executing the “Third Ball Attack” using his… Read More

MLTT Featured Team: Chicago Wind

July 14, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) The Chicago Wind plan to blow over competition in the upcoming Major League… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.