news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

The picture shows Fan Zhendong on the court

In the past two years, the 21-year-old Zhang Benzhihe has caused a lot of trouble for Fan Zhendong. Although Fan Zhendong has an absolute advantage with 7 wins and 3 losses in the previous 10 matches between the two, Zhang Benzhihe has won twice in the four duels from 2022 to now, and both were in Chengdu.

This time at the Paris South Arena in France, Zhang Benzhihe once again pushed Fan Zhendong into a desperate situation. In the last two games of the match, foreign fans at the scene even began to shout "HARIMOTO" over and over again during the breaks to cheer for Zhang Benzhihe, but Fan Zhendong was not overwhelmed by this slightly suffocating away atmosphere and still completed a big reversal, setting the final score at 4 to 3.

Fan Zhendong opened his arms and enjoyed the cheers from Chinese fans

At the moment of winning the game, Fan Zhendong opened his arms, raised his head and closed his eyes, enjoying the cheers from the Chinese fans. Not far away, Zhang Benzhihe half-squatted beside the table with a look of annoyance on his face, and did not get up for a long time. Even after he sorted out his emotions and returned to the sidelines, he still sat in a chair for a long time to calm down.

"I think I played very well today. I am also very satisfied with my start today. I played out all the preparations." After the game, Zhang Benzhihe reviewed the game to Chinese reporters in the mixed interview area. "But after the third game, he (Fan Zhendong) may have gradually adapted to my ball path and shot quality, and then he may have won the third and fourth games. I also changed my tactics after the fifth game, and I won after that, but it is true that I may not have anything new to play against him in the sixth and seventh games."

Zhang Benzhihe said directly after the game that after using all the prepared techniques and tactics, the game entered the stalemate and offensive phase, and the competition was still about who had higher hard power. "In this case, he is still a little better than me."

Fan Zhendong, who won the match, gave a high evaluation of Zhang Benzhihe after the match. "Back to the match itself, I think Zhang Benzhihe put a lot of pressure on me both technically and tactically. I think he kept putting pressure on me and pushed me into a desperate situation. But I think I was very determined today. I probably didn't think about winning or losing. I was fully committed and tried my best to think of a solution before the last ball landed."

Pictured: Fan Zhendong and Zhang Benzhihe

When Zhang Benzhihe, who had made careful preparations before the game, forced out the absolutely focused Fan Zhendong, the situation of the game gradually came under Fan Zhendong's control. As the Japanese media commented after the game, "The desire to defeat the Chinese team was shattered just when victory was imminent. In the final moments of the game, Fan Zhendong showed his true strength and controlled the game."

Judging from the course of the match and the final score, it was a close match. However, Zhang Benzhihe, who witnessed the fierce battle, expressed his feelings after the match, "Fan Zhendong's ability to adjust is really strong. In the sixth and seventh games, I felt that he was no longer so afraid of me. The result looked like 3 to 4, but if we had played two more games, I would definitely not have been able to beat him. In terms of strength, I am still a little lacking."

In fact, judging from the course of the game, Fan Zhendong was able to complete the big reversal not only because he was superior in strength, but also because he was more determined in spirit.

"I think we should have firm faith when we are behind. Although we didn't win the second game, I think our overall state is improving." In Fan Zhendong's view, the recovery in the second game and the 6-0 start in the third game laid a solid foundation for his comeback. What remains is to use willpower and concentration to better motivate himself. "Because every game requires full concentration, I put all my energy into the game, and I will think about fighting to the last ball."

Fan Zhendong himself said that he hopes to have a better mental outlook in the next game and then put aside those unnecessary distractions.

It is worth mentioning that in the mixed interview area after the game, French reporters had already started to follow Fan Zhendong, wanting to understand his attitude towards the next round against Felix Lebrun. It is not difficult to understand why French fans shouted Zhang Benzhihe's name in the arena to put pressure on Fan Zhendong. No one wants to face the "big devil" in the table tennis world in the knockout round.

In this regard, Fan Zhendong seemed relatively calm after the game. "Singles competition is originally an individual event. I will focus on myself and hope to give a better performance."

Just before Fan Zhendong left the stadium and returned to the athletes' village to rest, this game that attracted huge attention had been fermenting on social networks. The official social account of the Chinese Olympic Committee posted the following comment after the game, which is very suitable as a summary of the spiritual values ​​​​showed by Fan Zhendong in this game.

"The strength of the Chinese table tennis team has never been about winning for sure, but about the possibility of losing, but trying their best to remain undefeated!"