Supporters certain Fan Zhendong ‘will be back’ after losses in German table tennis league

The “real” Fan Zhendong will be back, said his new teammates, after the Chinese table tennis superstar lost both of his matches on his Bundesliga debut on Sunday.

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Playing for 1. FC Saarbrücken for the first time, Olympic champion Fan was the top-ranked player for his team when they hosted TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt at the Joachim-Deckarm Halle sports complex.

The former world No 1, who is currently not ranked after withdrawing from International Table Tennis Federation events last December, lost 3-2 to France’s Romain Ruiz in the opening match of the tie and then suffered a 3-1 defeat to Germany’s Benedikt Duda in the fourth match.

“He told me he needs to adapt his game, because it’s totally different from in China,” said Slovenian ace teammate Darko Jokic, who beat Adrien Rassenfosse 3-0 to secure the only point for his team as Saarbrücken lost the season opener 3-1 at home.

“The tables, the balls, the players are different. But we have many more matches and I’m sure the ‘real Fan Zhendong’ will be back.”

Fan Zhendong lost 3-2 to France’s Romain Ruiz in the opening match of the tie. Photo: Xinhua

Before making his debut in Germany, Fan won 13 straight matches in the Chinese Table Tennis Super League playing for Shanghai Zhongxing.

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