Fan Zhendong claims his first overseas club title, leads team to German Cup victory

World

2026.01.05 17:12

Fan Zhendong (2nd L) of 1. FC Saarbrucken Tischtennis celebrates with the trophy with teammates after the final between 1. FC Saarbrucken Tischtennis and TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell of Liebherr Pokal table tennis tournament in Neu-Ulm, Germany, Jan. 4, 2026. (Xinhua)

Chinese table tennis star Fan Zhendong claimed his first overseas club title after leading 1. FC Saarbrucken Tischtennis to a 3-1 victory over TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell in the German Cup final in Neu-Ulm on Sunday (Jan. 4).

Fan earned Saarbrucken the lead with a 3-0 win over Dimitrij Ovtcharov. After captain Patrick Franziska lost to Ruwen Filus 3-2, Saarbrucken regained its lead with Darko Jorgic sweeping Meng Fanbo 3-0, and Fan sealed the title with a 3-0 win over Filus.

Fan, who joined Saarbrucken in June 2025, won all of his four matches on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Saarbrucken defeated TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 3-1 in the semifinals, with Fan prevailing 3-1 over Tiago Abiodun and Shunsuke Togami, respectively.

"I'm very happy to be here and compete with strong players of different teams, that's a great feeling for me. I can feel the great enthusiasm for the sport and respect for the players. I'm really enjoying it, and I'm looking forward to every game," said Fan.

Since Fan's arrival in June last year, Saarbrucken has achieved positive results across all competitions, including the Bundesliga, European Champions League and German Cup.

Saarbrucken will play the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals in mid-January.