On January 28, Beijing time, the much-watched 2024 WTT Star Challenge Goa came to a successful conclusion. In this exciting women's singles final, Chinese Taipei's Zheng Yijing defeated Germany's Mittram 4-0 with an overwhelming advantage in four straight games, with the scores of -8, thrilling 17-15 and stable 11-6 respectively.
Although the national table tennis team and the Japanese table tennis team did not send the main team to participate in this competition, Zheng Yijing's performance undoubtedly proved that the competition of the event is still undiminished, and many powerful players in Europe are also competing for the championship here.
In the duel against Mittram, Zheng Yijing was in excellent form, with a steady and very pressing performance, she always controlled the rhythm of the game.
Especially in the third game, the two sides launched a fierce tug-of-war, and the score was once tied to 17-15 before it was separated, while Zheng Yijing showed a more decisive shot and a resolute forehand attack, and the service and attack tactics were used just right. After nearly two years of career slump, Zheng Yijing finally found her championship style in this tournament, and her excellent competitive form is eye-catching.
At the same time, in the men's singles final, there was a battle between young talents and old powerhouses. The 17-year-old French rising star F Lebrun faced top seed Brazil's Hugo, showing his rapid growth in the past six months, not only improving his technical level, but also becoming more and more mentally mature, and he is more comfortable with the rhythm of the game. His style of play is known for his speed, and once he has the upper hand, he is extremely efficient in scoring.
Although last year's results were not impressive, with only one title and a slight fluctuation in the overall performance, Hugo's success in reaching the final is a testament to his recovery in form and his highest world ranking among foreign players over the past year.
In the first game, the two players fought fiercely, and the score rose alternately, from 6-6 to 9-9, and finally Hugo seized the opportunity to take the next game 11-9. The second game continued the tension of the first game, with the two sides tied on several occasions, with Lebrun leading 7-5 at one point, but then suffered back-to-back points losses and was again won 11-9 by Hugo.
Entering the third game, the two sides were still inseparable, Hugo was full of firepower in the stalemate stage, and the two sides repeatedly played far from the table, but in the key points of this game, F Lebrun showed a firmer determination and pulled back a game 13-11.
The turning point came in the fourth game, when Hugo's form suddenly plummeted and mistakes were frequent, and F Lebrun took the opportunity to launch a fierce offensive and unbelievably hit an 11-0 climax. In the crucial fifth game, Hugo's form rebounded slightly, and the two sides fell into a fierce battle again, and the score was tight for a while, but F Lebrun won the game with a difficult 15-13 with tenacious will.
At the beginning of the sixth game, F Lebrun showed excellent control of the game, quickly established the score advantage and maintained the lead, and finally sealed the victory 11-7, so as to achieve a Jedi counterattack when the score was 0-2 behind, and won the game in four consecutive games to successfully win the championship. The youngster has been improving significantly lately and is already at the level of a top-notch player.
In the past few months, he has played against the main team of national table tennis several times, and although he was defeated twice by Ma Long, this does not hide the infinite possibilities of his future.
After all, the young F Lebrun has huge room for development, and may continue to advance by leaps and bounds in the future, and is even expected to break the seemingly insurmountable barrier of national table tennis; Of course, there are many uncertainties in the sport, and he can have his ups and downs, but in any case, his performance in Goa has already marked the mark on his career.