There was no love lost for Fan Zhendong after his team 1. FC Saarbruecken retained their men’s Champions League title on Sunday, despite the Chinese table tennis star losing both of his matches.
Led by Olympic silver medalist Truls Moregard, the German team, playing at home, beat French rivals Alliance Nimes/Montpellier 3-2 in a thrilling final at the Saarlandhalle.
And although he was not involved with the Chinese national team, state broadcaster CCTV and six other platforms showed the matches, drawing more than 1.9 million viewers to Saturday’s semi-final alone, where Fan dominated in a 3-1 victory over Poland’s KS Orlen Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki.
The total number of spectators set a record for table tennis events outside the Olympics, World Championships and World Cups.
The fan struggled in the final, losing 3-0 in the opening with four rubbers to the brothers Alexis and Felix Lebrun. However, key wins from Moregard and Darko Jorgic sealed Saarbruecken’s fourth straight Champions League title.
“It’s my first time playing in the Final Four, so it’s a special moment for me too, even if I didn’t contribute to my team,” said Fan, who signed for Saarbruecken last June but will move to Bundesliga club Borussia Dusseldorf in July.
