Fan, Chen are Smash hits in Singapore

Singapore Smash came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday as all-conquering Team China swept the five titles on offer at the inaugural World Table Tennis (WTT) event.

Chen Meng and Fan Zhendong emerged victorious in the women's and men's singles respectively following seven-game thrillers in front of a packed Infinity Arena.

World No 2 Chen beat fourth-ranked world champion Wang Manyu 4-3 (11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 9-11,11-8) for the women's title, while men's world champion Fan defeated two-time Olympic singles champion Ma Long 4-3 (11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 9-11,8-11, 11-8, 11-7).

"This is the first ever WTT Grand Smash, so we both really wanted to win it," said Chen, who regains the world No 1 spot this week.

"Manyu was trailing at some points but she was constantly looking for solutions and putting pressure on me. I value this title very much. It's my first title after the Tokyo Olympics, so this is very encouraging for me. I've trained hard and prepared well for this event, and I'm really glad my effort has paid off."

Fan, who lost to Ma in the men's singles final at the Tokyo Olympics, thanked the Singapore crowd and paid tribute to his opponent.

"This is a very meaningful win for me. It's my first time playing against Ma Long since Tokyo 2020, and the atmosphere was very good," said Fan. "There were some opportunities that I didn't quite seize in the fourth and fifth games. For the sixth game, I was just focused on winning one point at a time, because I knew it was important to turn things around.

"Ma Long is someone worthy of respect, both as an opponent and teammate. There are many things I can learn from him in terms of attitude as well as his techniques, and I'll continue to work hard to try to be more like him."

Fan claimed the men's doubles title with Wang Chuqin after beating Japanese pair Yukiya Uda and Shunsuke Togami 3-1.

In other categories, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha became the mixed doubles champions with a 3-0 victory over Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching of Chinese Taipei, while the women's doubles title went to Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha, who swept aside Japan's Hina Hayata and Mima Ito 3-0.

The first-ever Singapore Smash marked the start of a grand new legacy for table tennis, and the rousing success of the event ushers in a new era that augurs well for the sport. The players competed in front of a sell-out crowd, with the newly introduced VIP hospitality packages a hot ticket among fans during the latter stages of the event.

The Grand Smash tournaments are the foundation of the WTT Series, and the Singapore Smash is the first of the four events.

The Singapore Smash featured a star-studded lineup that included women's world No 1 Sun and two-time Olympic singles champion Ma, as well as men's doubles world champions Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson. In addition to the sport's biggest names, the next generation of rising stars was also on the bill, including world youth champions Xiang Peng and Kuai Man, both from China.

Spectators were treated to two weeks of exciting elimination table tennis, with singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions. Players competed for $2 million in prize money, the biggest-ever purse at an officially sanctioned table tennis event. Singles champions Chen and Fan left Singapore $100,000 richer and with 2,000 world ranking points.