ITTF Korean Open: Xu Xin powers to win men's title, Chen Meng jumps to world No.1
Chen Rong
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China's Xu Xin (2nd, L) claims a 4-1 victory over his compatriot Ma Long (3rd, L) to win the men's singles title at the ITTF Korean Open in Busan, South Korea, July 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

China's Xu Xin (2nd, L) claims a 4-1 victory over his compatriot Ma Long (3rd, L) to win the men's singles title at the ITTF Korean Open in Busan, South Korea, July 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

China's Xu Xin has added another crown to his glorious career this year as he claimed the men's singles title, following his doubles victory, at the ITTF Korean Open in Busan, South Korea on Sunday.

The 29-year-old table tennis player is good at left-hand pen-hold play, defeated his compatriot Ma Long 4-1 in the final.

Earlier, Xu and compatriot Fan Zhendong defeated their opponents from hosts South Korea 3-0 to win the doubles final on Saturday.

China's Xu Xin (L) and Fan Zhendong compete during the ITTF Korean Open men's doubles final in Busan, South Korea, July 6, 2019. /VCG Photo

China's Xu Xin (L) and Fan Zhendong compete during the ITTF Korean Open men's doubles final in Busan, South Korea, July 6, 2019. /VCG Photo

The victory marked Xu's record fourth singles title at the Korean Open, following his triumphant efforts in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

And it further strengthened his world No.1 status after he ended Fan's 15-month reign on Thursday to reach atop the world rankings for the first time in nearly four and a half years.

He has proved his strength in men's singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.

Xu teamed up with Liu Shiwen to win the mixed doubles title at the ITTF World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in April.

Last month, he prevailed to win three titles at the Japanese Open in men's singles, men's doubles along with teammate Fan, and mixed doubles with Zhu Yuling, also from China.

China's Chen Meng competes in the women's singles final against Ding Ning (not pictured) during the ITTF Korean Open in Busan, South Korea, July 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

China's Chen Meng competes in the women's singles final against Ding Ning (not pictured) during the ITTF Korean Open in Busan, South Korea, July 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

The women's singles final, an all Chinese affair, also ended 4-1 in favor of Chen Meng, who downed Ding Ning to bag the gold medal on Sunday.

The 25-year-old extended her record to third victories this season and the Korean Open title also promoted her to the top of the world rankings.

"To be world No. 1 encourages me a lot. It doesn't mean that I have become the best player. I still have a lot to learn from Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen, who are both very excellent players," said Chen after the victory.

"I've always wanted to win this match and I'm glad that my efforts finally paid off," she added.

Chen Meng will next compete in the Australia Open and the national championships.

(With input from Xinhua)