Ruthless Wang overwhelms Ma to reign supreme in Macao
23rd April 2023
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22-year-old superstar Wang Chuqin has rounded off his Men’ Singles campaign at WTT Champions Macao 2023 in style, making an emphatic statement at Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion after closing out a dominant 4-0 win over double Olympic gold medallist Ma Long (12-10, 11-1, 11-8, 11-7).
2nd seed Wang held a strong record against his Chinese compatriot heading into the final, but was expecting a close contest with the previous five encounters between the two players going the full distance.
However, the complete opposite story played out on Sunday evening as Wang produced a sublime performance to stun the “Dragon” in straight games.
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The match opened as anticipated with both players flying out of the starting blocks at top speed, returning pace with even more pace to treat the crowd to an exciting game.
Knowing the importance of a good start, Ma was determined to grab an early foothold in the match and looked well on course to achieve exactly that, pulling 10-7 ahead to hold three glorious game point opportunities.
Unusually, 4th seed Ma failed to capitalise, leaving Wang just enough room to fight back with the latter player chalking up five points in a row to sensationally steal game one 12-10.
A missed opportunity, Ma cut a frustrated figure from that moment on, snatching at his shots in game two, and before he knew it the task became even more daunting as Wang raced 2-0 in front.
Troubled by what he had seen in the opening stages of the match, Ma looked dejected at the table. A player famed for his high precision table tennis, the World No.4 struggled to get back on track in the final. Meanwhile, it was quite the opposite story for Wang, who remained focused on the task at hand, approaching each point with excellent balance to inch closer to victory.
The Ma faithful continued to lend their support from the stands as they attempted to lift their idol, but it wasn’t to be their day as Wang produced an ice-cold display in game four to round off a tremendous campaign with a famous win.
"I was very happy to win against Ma Long, but I still had some problems during the match. I had a slow start and I need to analyse this problem later. This Champions event also gives me a lot of confidence, but I still need to train well and prepare for the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban." Wang Chuqin
Wang Chuqin has now won two WTT Champions titles with both successes coming in Macao, having also done the business at WTT Champions Macao 2022 last October.
As for Ma Long, the 34-year-old legend continues to search for his first WTT Series title with his last international title coming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Check out the complete results from Day 7 here.
