Xu survives teenage Fan blast to win gold

AFP, South Korea :
World number one Xu Xin was made to battle all the way by 17-year-old Fan Zhendong in an epic men’s singles table tennis final Saturday.
China’s Xu won 11-6, 5-11, 11-13, 11-7, 12-10, 11-8 to take gold, but he was pushed hard by the Chinese world number two and youth Olympics champion.
“The final was very tough, both Fan Zhendong and I played at the highest level,” Xu told AFP.
Xu drew away easily to win the first game 11-6 and it seemed that Fan might be suffering from stage fright in his first Asian Games against a man he had called a “superstar” earlier in the week.
However Fan blasted back with a runaway 11-5 to level and from then on a ding-dong, ping-pong classic unfolded.
They were locked 11-11 in the third when Fan unleashed a magical backhand to go to game point and converted as Xu, who had held game point at 10-9, went long.
“I think the most important factor was my mental toughness on the crucial points,” said Xu.
“In the third, I threw away a game point but I was able to bounce back quickly in the fourth. I think that was the key to the victory.”