The 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion beat world number two XU
Xin in an epic men's singles final to add to his men's doubles, mixed
doubles and men's team gold medals that he won earlier in the
event.
FAN looked to be cruising to his fourth Asian title, as he jumped
to a 3-0 lead against his close friend XU. XU responded with some
breathtaking shots to level the match at 3-3, before FAN proved to be too
strong, clinching the title 12-10, 11-2, 12-10,7-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-9 in
front of the capacity crowd.
After becoming only the second man ever to complete the gold
medal sweep at the Asian Championships, after his team mate MA Long, FAN
stated: "Playing in 4 events has been a great challenge for myself, it has
been tiring, but also very rewarding!"
"Of course I'm very excited to win 4 medals here at the Asian
Championships, especially in the men's singles! I have lost to XU Xin
several times after playing full 7-games matches in international
tournaments, so I had a lot of desire to win this match against
him."
"It was a difficult match, even though I was well prepared and
was able to carry out my strategies. I had the chance to end the match in
the fourth, fifth and even sixth game, because I was leading, but I guess
I became more reserved when I was close to winning, and that caused me
those three games."
Information from ITTF
|