by Simon Daish

The opposition finalists for Ma Long and Zhang Jike were also Chinese, with Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong living up to expectations at the Open.

With an all-Chinese final taking place the atmosphere within the arena was deafening, as the home fans were met with a win-win situation no matter who ended the match as champions.

Ma Long and Zhang Jike took game one to grab the early advantage in the final, however, Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong began to grow into the match and subsequently stole the following two ends to take the lead themselves.

Neither pairing showed any signs of slowing down in game four and a narrow difference in team performance brought the tie level, with Ma and Zhang squeezing through to the deciding end.

Then a rise in confidence and a momentum boost proved enough to see Ma Long and Zhang Jike take the glory in the seventh game of a thrilling encounter (11-8, 5-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5).

Latest Results

Sunday 18th September: Men’s Doubles – Main Draw