China claims three titles at ITTF Swedish Open

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Table tennis powerhouse China unsurprisingly claimed three out of four titles at the ITTF World Tour Swedish Open on Sunday. Qualifier Chen Xingtong's defeat of reigning Olympic and world champion Ding Ning, however, was a surprise.

Kicking off her campaign from qualifiers, Chen upset promising Japanese star Miu Hirano and teammates Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling, en route to her final encounter with Ding Ning, who played her first international tournament in almost five months.

Chen led 3-1 after four games, only to be dragged into the decider as the title favorite Ding nailed two games at 11-6, 11-6 each.

Chen Xingtong, the surprise winner in Stockholm. /ITTF Photo

The two paddlers held their serves for 9-all in the seventh game, before Chen converted her championship point at 11-9 and finished the week on a high note.

It was Chen's second World Tour singles title of the season, and she says it will boost her confidence to a new level.

"I lost many similar matches (seven-game thrillers) before. This time I showed much more experience, and proved myself at last," commented Chen, adding that she still had much room for improvement and currently should not be regarded as a high-quality paddler.

Ding's last international tournament was the ITTF World Tour China Open back in June. She later had to withdraw from the World Cup due to injury.

"Losing the final is a bit of a pity for me, but I feel better as the matches go on, one after another," she said.

Chinese paddlers Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong. /ITTF Photo

Coming back from an 11-6 loss in the opening game, Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin combined to beat their Hong Kong compatriots Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 in the following three games for the men's doubles title.

Later on Sunday, the Chinese duo had their head-to-head clash in the men's singles final, where second-seeded Xu also recovered from a one-game deficit, at 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6, 11-2.

Women's doubles was the only event where China missed the top of the podium, as the Japanese duo of Hina Hayata and Mima Ito beat Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling 11-8, 1-11, 11-9, 11-9.

Following the final stop in Sweden, the ITTF World Tour will head to the Grand Finals in Astana, Kazakhstan from December 14 to 17, highlighted by the 2017 ITTF Star Awards in eight categories.

Chinese team captain Ma Long is nominated for Male Table Tennis Star, while Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling are on the nominee list for Female Star.

(Top photo credit to ITTF)

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency