By Henry Chen
“Actually, I have been nominated for the Best Male Star since 2013. It explains I have achievements but not have done my best.” Fan Zhendong said.
Fan Zhendong is this year’s winner of the 2016 ITTF Star Awards Star Point. The Chinese teenage player was chosen after his amazing shot against Simon Gauzy in the 2016 ITTF World Tour Japan Open.
According to Fan Zhendong, he was actually confident in such award because he knew that it caught the attention of a lot of people. He is proud of what he has performed.
“It went viral all over the world. Everyone has been congratulating me. I consider it to be my most wonderful shot in my athletic career.” He said.
The 19-year old world champion further explained that he was very much inspired in that competition. Since he has invested a lot, he was able to do some things that are beyond normal expectation.
“It probably has a relation with the time of the competition. That was in the Japan Open which took place during our closed training for the Olympic Games. I was really solid during my training. Therefore, I was very invested in the match. I was also inspired.” Fan Zhendong explained.
Apart from the Star Point, Fan Zhendong was also nominated in the Best Male Star category along with Jun Mizutani, Quadri Aruna and his teammate Ma Long. The Rio 2016 Olympic champion Ma Long got the award.
Fan Zhendong is aware that he has achieved a lot in recent years. In fact 2016 could be his most fruitful so far following his successful quest in the Liebherr 2016 Men’s World Cup. However, he is also aware that he hasn’t done something big yet. That explains why he hasn’t been been presented with the Best Male Award since 2013.
As for now, Fan Zhendong continues to aim for perfection.
“It is a starting point of a new cycle. I hope that I can play more perfectly.”
Fan Zhendong just sealed his seat in the penultimate round of the Seamaster Qatar 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. He defeated Dimitrij Ovtcharov in six games in the quarterfinal fixture (9-11, 10-12, 15-13, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5). Fan Zhendong is scheduled to fight against Xu Xin in the next round.
