Ma Long seals career set as Beijing win table tennis men's team title at China's National Games

The table tennis events of the 15th National Games concluded on Thursday. Beijing defeated Shanghai 3-1 to claim the men's team title in the best-of-five final series, ending a 32-year wait for the title. 

This marked Beijing's second consecutive appearance in the Men's Team final. The opening doubles match saw table tennis great Ma Long partner with Huang Youzheng to defeat Xu Xin and Zhou Kai 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 11-7. 

In the second match, Shanghai's Fan Zhendong faced Beijing's Wang Chuqin, a rematch of their recent singles semifinal. Paris Olympic men's singles champion Fan leveled the overall score at 1-1 by winning 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-9. 

The pivotal third match featured Ma against Shanghai's Zhou. Controlling the tempo of the game, the "Dragon" secured a victory with scores of 11-4, 13-11, 14-12, giving Beijing a 2-1 lead. 

With their backs against the wall, Shanghai's Xu Xin took to the table. Facing Wang, Xu played with noticeable relaxation, but Wang demonstrated his World No. 1 caliber, winning 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 to seal the match. 

The 3-1 victory sealed the men's team gold for Beijing, finally completing the set for Ma. In his sixth National Games, the 37-year-old finally secured the one major title that had been missing from his glorious career. 

"Everyone says it is a successful conclusion. I think so, but I was also quite focused on the match itself. For me, no matter if it's the National Games or the National Championships, I am focused on fulfilling my target. No matter what kind of competitions I take part in, I always maintain such a mindset." said Ma.