China’s Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng ended the year in style winning the men’s singles and women’s singles titles respectively on Sunday 15th December at the Agricultural Bank of China 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.
Fan defeated Ma Long (11-6 12-10 11-6 6-11 11-8) to reclaim the crown he first won in 2017 after Chen Meng overcame Wang Manyu (11-9 11-6 11-6 9-11 11-6) to seal a record-equalling third straight women’s singles title at a Grand Finals. Both Fan and Chen have made sure that they will end 2019 on top of the world rankings.
Japanese teenagers Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki scooped women’s doubles gold medals as Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin claimed the men’s doubles crown. World Champions Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen reigned supreme in the mixed doubles.
The four-day event held in Zhengzhou China brings the curtain down on the 2019 international table tennis calendar. The annual showpiece marks one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments offering prize money of up to $1 001 000.
