Table tennis: Fan, Wang finally nail it with S'pore Smash men's doubles title

SINGAPORE - They have been an on-off combination since the 2019 Austrian Open but Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin's men's doubles partnership did not really take off. At last November's World Table Tennis Championships, they were knocked out in the quarter-finals.

That all changed at the US$2 million (S$2.71 million) World Table Tennis (WTT) Grand Smash, when they won their biggest title as a pair after beating Japanese world No. 3s Yukiya Uda and Shunsuke Togami 3-1 (12-10, 12-10, 12-14, 11-7) in the men's doubles final at the OCBC Arena on Friday night (March 18).

After picking up a cheque for US$12,000, Wang, who won the mixed doubles final on Thursday with compatriot Sun Yingsha, said: "We still can get better, but with such a result, we can have more belief in our ability as a pair.

"Of course, having world No. 1s as partners gives me more assurance, but whether we will continue as a pair is up to the coaches."

China's strength in depth means they can afford to experiment with different combinations for competitions - Fan has teamed with Xu Xin, while Wang paired with Liang Jingkun at the recent WTT Contender Muscat - but that may mean that they do not have as much chemistry as other more established pairings.

In Friday's final, there were times where the 33rd-ranked Fan and Wang left gaps for World Championships bronze medalists Uda and Togami, both 20, to exploit as they were pushed hard in the first three games, but managed to find a breakthrough.

Fan, who will play Uda in Saturday's men's singles semi-finals, said: "It takes more than training to build a partnership and we didn't achieve what we set out to at the World Championships, so this victory feels sweet as this competition is of a similar level."

Fans were treated to spectacular table tennis earlier in the evening when both all-China women's singles semi-finals went the distance.

Olympic champion and world No. 2 Chen Meng admitted she thought she was in "full control", only to be taken to the wire by fifth-ranked Wang Yidi before emerging a 4-3 (11-3, 13-11, 9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8) winner.

The 28-year-old said: "I haven't had such a close match recently, so this experience was valuable."

She will need all of that and more to overcome the in-form world champion Wang Manyu. The world No. 4 eked out another impressive win over world No. 1 Sun, prevailing 4-3 (7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 12-14, 11-8).

The 23-year-old, who will team up with Sun to face Japan's Mima Ito and Hina Hayata in Saturday's women's doubles final, said: "Recent results have built a foundation of confidence. In such a close fight, I feel like I have more lasting power."