In the recently concluded WTT Muscat regular tournament, 19-year-old rookie Chen Yuanyu represented the national table tennis team and advanced to the men's singles semifinals alone, eventually winning the championship unexpectedly, which sparked heated discussions among fans. It is worth noting that Chen Yuanyu's experience in this competition can be described as a male protagonist plot in a refreshing novel, not only did he go all the way to the end, but he also defeated all the strong opponents who eliminated his national table tennis teammates in the men's singles, including Ochaglof, Guo Guanhong, and Zhang Benzhihe.
Many fans couldn't help but exclaim: young athletes must have this kind of fighting spirit and ruthlessness! Let's take a look back at Chen Yuanyu's journey full of surprises!
A total of four athletes from the national table tennis team participated in the men's singles event in this competition, among which Xu Yingbin, known as the "Giant Killer" (who once defeated Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, Lin Shidong, Zhang Benzhihe, and the Lubrun brothers), lost in the first round, losing 0-3 without winning a single game against German world champion Ochaglof, only reaching the position of the top 32.
However, Ochaglof didn't enjoy his victory for long. After eliminating Xu Yingbin and advancing, he met the hotly contested Chen Yuanyu. The two sides fought fiercely for 4 sets to determine the winner, with the national table tennis youngster laughing last with a 3-1 victory, thus advancing smoothly to the quarterfinals.
In the round of 16, Xiang Peng, the highest-ranked player among the national table tennis men's singles participants, was surprisingly eliminated, losing 1-3 to Guo Guanhong, a 16-year-old Chinese Taipei youngster ranked 191st in the world. Guo Guanhong continued to advance into the semifinals, but this time he failed to go all the way, ultimately being swept out by Chen Yuanyu with a 3-0 score.
As for Huang Youzheng, the men's singles champion of the National Championships and Youth World Championships on the other half of the draw, he fell in the quarterfinals, losing 1-3 to Japan's number one player Zhang Benzhihe. During the match, he had six set points in the first and fourth games but was overturned, losing very unfortunately. Zhang Benzhihe then continued to advance and finally faced Chen Yuanyu in the final.
On one side is Chen Yuanyu, a non-main force rising star of the national table tennis team who is only 19 years old and ranked 54th in the world; on the other side is Zhang Benzhihe, the top player of the Japanese team who has seven years of world championship experience and is currently ranked third in the world.
Before the start of the final, many people did not think that Chen Yuanyu could win, but unexpectedly, he withstood the pressure and finally defeated Zhang Benzhihe with a score of 4-2, ending the battle without even reaching the decisive game. He not only topped the podium himself but also achieved "revenge" for all three of his eliminated men's singles teammates, and also won the first international men's singles title of the year for the national table tennis team. He is indeed awe-inspiring and deserves everyone's applause!