Durban 2023 World Table Tennis Championship
The 2023 World Table Tennis Championship final in Durban, South Africa was contested by Chinese players Fan Zhendong (world number 1) and Wang Chuqin (world number 2).
After 1 hour and 10 minutes of play, Fan Zhendong beat Chuqin in 6 sets with the scores of 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10, 11-13 and 11-3.
Zhendong has once again proven why he is currently the best table tennis player.
The match
Match Analysis
A world cup final worthy of the name. Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin gave an exemplary display of modern table tennis.
Both Zhedong and Chuqin exhibit a style of play based on aggressive attacking using very powerful shots, thus managing to develop a very high speed of the ball on the table at every point.
It is clear that the strategy of the two players is to leave no reaction time for the opponent to return the ball, which requires considerable physical effort for the two players.
The best defense is attack
Zhendong and Chuqin took risks throughout the game by attacking from serve. Indeed, one of the fundamental principles of table tennis, which is the attack on the third ball, was difficult to implement since they decided to attack from the start of each point.
Backspin (chop) exchanges were practically non-existent, but they were attacked with determination and efficiency.
Chuqin showed in the fifth set, after losing 5-10, that attacking is the best way to defend. He made a stunning comeback to win the set 13-11, completely baffling Zhendong, who tried to break Chuqin’s attacking rhythm by requesting a time out.
Mental toughness makes the difference
After losing the fifth set, Fan Zhendong showed steely mentality. He played the sixth set as if nothing had happened. He continued with a completely attacking rhythm causing his opponent many errors.
Faced with the flurry of well-targeted attacks from Zhendong, Chuqin found himself utterly bewildered and struggled to read his opponent’s play, allowing a large scale on the scoreline.
