Sports
22:59, 21-Oct-2018
Fan Zhendong defeats Boll to clinch second ITTF World Cup title
Updated
22:02, 24-Oct-2018
["china"]
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Chinese top seed Fan Zhendong defeated two-time champion Timo Boll in the final of the ITTF Men's World Cup 4-1 on Sunday night to claim his second title of the event in Paris.
The 21 year-old Fan, who won the title in 2016, hoisted the trophy again by beating the German veteran 16 years his senior. Fan and his aggressive style paid off as he won his first game 11-9, and then comfortably took the next two games 11-5, 11-6 with Boll bothered by a leg injury.
But Boll managed to fight back in the fourth as he took a 10-8 lead. And when Fan tried for too much on his forehand, the German won the game 11-9 but still trailed 3-1.
The Chinese soon found himself behind in the fifth game as Boll went on a run of four points. But Fan righted the ship and won the championship point with a big forehand, winning the game 11-8 and the match 4-1 to claim his second World Cup title.
Another Chinese, Lin Gaoyuan defeated the defending champion from Germany, Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Lin prevailed in five games by scores of 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3 to finish third in the tournament.