China's table tennis wall too high to climb, says Japanese coach
Host China reaffirmed its dominance in table tennis at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, pocketing both the men's and women's team gold medals at Gongshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium on Tuesday.
The men's final between China and South Korea was scheduled in the evening.
Wang Chuqin staged a tense opening clash against his Korean opponent Lim Jong-hoon before sealing a 4-1 victory.
Fan Zhendong acknowledges the crowd after winning his match.
Tokyo Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, from Shanghai, then eased past An Jae-hyun 3-0 in the second match, using merely half an hour.
Veteran Ma Long showed no mercy in the next match, smashing Park Gang-hyeon 3-0 to secure the men's team's gold for China.
"All the three players, especially Wang Chuqin, were well prepared for today's final," Chinese men's team coach Wang Hao said after the victory. "The overall score is 3-0, but we were very close in some of the small points of each game. I'm satisfied with my team's performance."
Team China paddlers celebrate on the podium during the awards ceremony for the men's team final.
Earlier, the women's team defeated Japan to clinch its fifth consecutive Asian Games title. However, the victory was not as easy as the 3-0 result suggested.
The Japanese trio put up a steely showing. They took only four games overall, but were often short by just a few points in other games.
China raced ahead as world No. 1 Sun Yingsha beat Hina Hayata 3-1. Olympic champion Chen Meng made it 2-0 as she came from behind to edge Miu Hirano 3-2.
The host then secured the title following Wang Manyu's 3-1 victory over 15-year-old debutante Miwa Harimoto.
Sun Yingsha celebrates after winning a point.
"We were able to show team spirit, unity and fight," Chinese women's team coach Ma Lin said afterwards.
"Today's tie was probably the toughest of all the recent ones we've had with Team Japan. They're also very young players and it bodes well for the future rivalry between China and Japan's women's teams.
"I think our matches will continue to be very keenly contested in the future," Ma added.
Chinese women's team players put their gold medals around coach Ma Lin's neck.
Japanese women's team coach Takehiro Watanabe was full of praise for their opponent's performance.
"To have the chance to challenge the powerhouse of table tennis is a blessing for us," said Watanabe.
"Today, all of our players worked very hard and put up a strong fight for everyone watching. However, the great wall of China is still too high for us to climb for now."
