The 2023 Yangzhou National Championships entered the final day of the men's tournament with Shanghai Real Estate Group defeating Zhejiang in the men's team battle
The team successfully defended its title, with Zhejiang finishing second, and Heilongjiang Galaxy and Hubei First Team tying for third place.
The match was one-sided. In the first set, Xu Xin/Zhou Kai defeated Cai Wei/Gong Sheng Han in straight sets. Xu Xin revealed that although Zhejiang's lineup didn't look that strong, he prepared himself for the toughest match, "They won so many tough battles along the way, so they must be the strongest opponent for us. I think we did a good job, I and Zhou Kai mobilization is very good, through the two years of the league, the two of us doubles more and more tacit understanding, than before there is a leap forward, we still have some advantages on this doubles."
In the second set, Fan Zhendong also beat the opponent's top player Xiang Peng by the same score, "Play is still very good, the whole game can control the situation very well, also within their own range. This time, the overall fighting force of the Zhejiang team is very strong, they went all the way to have a reversal, there is a fierce battle, we still do a good job of our own, every ball is more fully prepared."
With a 2-0 lead, Xu Xin made light work of the third singles set, beating Gong Sheng Han 3-0 to seal the win for his team. "Already leading 2-0, I was more relaxed and enjoyed the third set more. I think today's final, the spirit of the three of us and the desire for the championship is higher than our opponents." Xu Xin said after the match.
This tournament, Fan Zhendong played a total of 4 plates of singles and 2 plates of doubles, and harvested all the wins. Summarizing the trip to the All-Championships, Fan Zhendong said: "Yesterday we experienced a very tough game, today's final every ball may have some advantage, but if not handled well, the direction of the final game is not easy to say. In fact, each of us is a point by point to play out, but also a point by point to win, and finally to win the championship is very happy."
As the team's patriarch, Xu Xin had in 2014 to 2017, to create a domestic ping pong Shanghai men's team era, once again harvested the title, happy but also can not help but feel, "the times are different, the cycle is also different, 2014 to 2017 we did win big in the men's team, but in the next cycle, we are not so eye-catching performance. The new cycle has a few small partners to join, complemented our overall strength, we play together a very good feeling, from the leadership, coaches, to our players to get along especially well. This makes it easier for us to create more sparks on the field, and we all remind and encourage each other when we encounter difficulties. The new cycle we started to hang stars on our clothes, next year we will compete again with two stars, I hope the stars are more and more, and I also hope to play with them for a longer period of time."
Zhou Kai summarized the National Championships with the word "successful", "singles breakthrough, I played many sessions of the National Championships, the last results in the past is the top 8, this time into the final. Team competition, I am also very honored to be with the two Olympic champions to win the final championship."
