China star Fan Zhendong set for ‘new challenges’ after helping German club win first title
Table tennis star leads 1. FC Saarbrücken to their maiden Bundesliga championship in his final match but now joins team he helps defeat
Chinese table tennis mega star Fan Zhendong said he would continue to prepare and elevate himself to embrace new challenges after guiding 1. FC Saarbrücken to the German league title for the first time in franchise history on Sunday.
Sunday’s match was Fan’s final one for Saarbrücken, the club he joined last June. The former world No 1 will now switch to Düsseldorf – the very team he helped defeat and the most successful club in German table tennis history – at the start of next month.
Playing as the No 1 player, Fan beat Qiu Dang 3-1 in the opening rubber, and followed that up with a 3-2 win over Kanak Jha in the fourth match to score two points as Saarbrücken completed the season treble.
Team captain Patrick Franziska contributed the other point with his 3-1 win over Anton Kallberg.
“I’m very happy to make history with our club. I did not play that well at times throughout the season; however, we are a very strong team and won this important match,” said Fan, who was named MVP for the final.