In the early morning of September 20, Beijing time, the German Cup 1/8 finals took place. Chinese table tennis Grand Slam champion Fan Zhendong made his debut in this event, where he dominated Hungary’s Csudi with a decisive 3-0 sweep. Together with his teammates from 1. FC Saarbrücken TT, Fan helped secure a 3-0 team victory over Borussia Dortmund. Recently, Fan has already won four consecutive matches in European league play, showing strong form. Full details below.
Fan Zhendong’s Background
Fan Zhendong was once ranked World No. 1 and has been a core player for the Chinese Table Tennis Team across two Olympic cycles. Having achieved both a Grand Slam and a Full Slam, many expected the 1997-born star to continue competing for another Olympics. However, to everyone’s surprise, he announced at the end of last year that he was withdrawing from the world rankings and would not participate in any international events during the Los Angeles Olympic cycle.
This year, Fan has been competing in the Chinese Super League and preparing for the National Games in November. Even more unexpectedly, he also joined the European professional league, signing with Saarbrücken. Yet his European campaign did not start smoothly.
Early Setbacks
According to the schedule, Fan is competing in the German Bundesliga, German Cup, and the Champions League. In his Bundesliga debut on August 31, he unexpectedly lost 2-3 to France’s Alexis Ruiz, ranked World No. 302, and then suffered another loss 1-3 to Germany’s Benedikt Duda. Saarbrücken eventually lost that match 1-3 to TTC Neu-Ulm, a shocking outcome.
Finding His Rhythm
By September 6, Fan quickly regained momentum. He defeated Zeljko (Croatia) 3-1 and Bettelsmeier (Germany) 3-1, helping Saarbrücken secure their first Bundesliga win of the season, beating Königshofen 3-1.
On September 14, Fan continued his strong performance, sweeping Borussia Dortmund’s Cedric Nuytinck (Belgium) 3-0, with Saarbrücken also winning 3-0 overall. Then on September 20, the two clubs met again in the German Cup. This time, Fan once again swept Csudi (Hungary) 3-0, leading Saarbrücken to another emphatic 3-0 team victory.
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Current Form and Outlook
At present, as long as Fan Zhendong adapts to the local training and competition environment, he can still maintain a very high winning percentage in European leagues. However, it must be noted that his last four opponents were not top-level challengers, so he cannot afford to relax. The deeper the season goes, the tougher the matches are likely to become.
Looking ahead, Fan Zhendong will return to Bundesliga action on October 5, where fans eagerly await his next performance.
