China and Germany Combine to Clinch Doubles Crown at ITTF China Open

The 2 international doubles pair Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER) / YAN An (CHN) with Timo BOLL (GER) / MA Long (CHN) on the podium at the ITTF World Tour China Open. Photo by ITTF/ HU Xiaojun.

The highly anticipated international doubles pairings at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour (Super Series) - China Open in Changchun, China, did not disappoint, with German Timo BOLL and Chinese MA Long winning the Men's Doubles gold today in an epic final.

The pair, dubbed 'Longbo' by the fans, were simply too good for fellow German and Chinese combination Dimitrij OVTCHAROV and YAN An. They won 11-13, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 in front of a loud Changchun crowd to show that table tennis transcends all language and cultural barriers.

The 32-year-old BOLL who won his 7th World Tour Doubles crown 4 years after his last stated after the match: "It was a lot of fun to play with MA Long. It was helpful to chat and learn about his style of play and thoughts about table tennis. I hope to play with him again soon as our styles matches perfectly - I play softer with more spin and placement. Ma long is the more powerful one. We understood each other well and we were very happy with the outcome."

The Doubles gold was not enough for World Number 2 MA Long, as he stepped back on the court within 30 minutes of his Doubles triumph to beat local town favorite WANG Hao 11-8, 11-8, 11-2, 11-8, to clinch the Men's Singles title, which is MA Long's 15th World Tour gold.

MA, who lost to WANG in the Semi Finals at the last 3 World Championships (2009, 2011, 2013), said about his win: "I am happy with my win in my home country. This is my first main competition after the World Table Tennis Championships last month in Paris, but I feel that I played the key points well, which was vital to my victory. The victory is even more sweet after winning the doubles with my friend Timo Boll. After playing so many matches the last 3 days, I am now looking forward to having a rest tomorrow."

World and Olympic Champion LI Xiaoxia (CHN) continued her impressive form in the Women's Singles, defeating veteran GUO Yan (CHN) who announced that this may be her last international event as a player. The 25 year old won the her 9th World Tour Women's title 11-8, 11-9, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5.

"This victory caps off a dream 12 months for me, after I won gold at London 2012 and my first World Championships gold last month in Paris" stated LI Xiaoxia. "She (retiring GUO Yan) is an asset to the team and a true leader, so I hope that in the future she will continue to be a good coach and bring the Chinese team to greater heights."

The pair GUO Yue & LIU Shiwen, took little time thrashing FENG Yalan/GUO Yan 11-6,11-5,13-11 to claim the women's doubles crown.

"I'm happy to win the doubles again" stated GUO Yue, who has clinched an unbelievable 36th World Tour title today. "We both prepared quite a lot, discussing and analysing our opponents and we are both very happy this paid off."

LIU Shiwen added: "Guo Yue is a good doubles partner, so I let her take the lead, and I tried to match her style of play."

2012 Junior World Champion Fan Zhendong (CHN) and Ng Wing Nam (HKG) grabbed the respective men's and women's Under 21 titles to show the world they are the next big thing.

"Along the way to become U21 Men's Singles Champion, I had many tough matches including the semifinals and final" stated FAN Zhendong. "I think the key to my win is that I had made many improvements to my game since the competition started, and I managed to win the crucial points.

Ng Wingnam, who is the face of the next generation of Hong Kong table tennis stated: "The win still has not set in. Actually I had a very tough draw, from the very 1st round until now, which is my 4th match. The win is a result of my will!"

This frantic final day caps off a very successful China Open. The world's best table tennis players now move on to the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour (Super Series) - Japan Open in Yokohama, Japan on 19-23 June 2013.

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