China once again demonstrated its dominance in table tennis by securing two 4-0 victories in the singles semifinals at the Paris Olympics on Friday, with Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng leading the charge.
Men’s second seed Fan overcame French teenager Felix Lebrun, while women’s defending champion Chen also cruised into the final by defeating South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin.
Fan won a close first game 11-8 after it was tied at 8-8, leaving 17-year-old Lebrun somewhat shaken.
Despite some resistance from the talented teenager, Fan maintained a high quality of forehand topspins during the long rallies and progressed to the finals without dropping a game.
“I didn’t play so bad, but if I want to win against Fan I have to play my best and that was not today,” said Lebrun, who now meets either Brazil’s Hugo Calderano or Sweden’s Truls Moregard to fight for a bronze medal.
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Fan attributed his boosted confidence to his tough 4-3 win against Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto on Thursday.
“I think the score definitely exceeded expectations,” said Fan of Friday’s win. “I thought every match might be as tough as yesterday’s.
“Whether things were going smoothly today or I was trailing like yesterday, I felt very determined to take control of the match.”
Fan did not seem particularly troubled by Lebrun’s unusual penhold style either. His coach, Wang Hao, was one of the best penhold players in the world.
Fan credited the resourceful China team for its preparation against a variety of opponents.
“I think the foundation and strength of the Chinese team is that regardless of the style of play, we have excellent talents and athletes. We also have corresponding preparations and targeted strategies,” said Fan.
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