Zhang Zhizhen celebrates winning the men's singles title at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Sept. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)
Zhang Zhizhen secured his first Asiad gold with a hard-fought victory over Yosuke Watanuki in the final, while Chinese Taipei claimed both men's and women's doubles titles for the first time at an Asiad.
HANGZHOU, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Top seed Zhang Zhizhen of China secured his first Asian Games gold medal with a 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over Japan's Yosuke Watanuki in the tennis men's singles here on Saturday, while Chinese Taipei made history by grabbing both men's and women's doubles titles at the Asiad for the first time.
Zhang's win was also the first men's singles gold medal for China at the Asiad in nearly three decades, after Pan Bing won the event in the 1990 and 1994 editions of the Games.
Watanuki took a 4-1 lead in the opening set, but 26-year-old Zhang rallied back to seize the win. After the second set was dragged into a tie-break, Zhang's decisive and powerful returns saw him prevail.
"I failed to keep my patience at the beginning, but I gradually calmed down to catch up point by point. I preformed pretty well in the second set and feel happy to win the title," Zhang said.
Chan Hao-ching (L) and Chan Yung-jan in action during the women's doubles final. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)
Two pairs from Chinese Taipei met in the women's doubles final, where Chan Yung-jan and her younger sister Chan Hao-ching eased past Liang En-shuo and Lee Ya-hsuan 6-4, 6-3, adding to the team's men's doubles victory of Jason Jung and Hsu Yu-hsiou on Friday.
"We just want to show our best on the court. It's really a special moment for me to stand atop the podium together with my sister," Chan Yung-jan said, while also praising the great performance of their opponents. "As time goes by, they will definitely become a stronger and more mature pair."
Liang also took silver in the mixed doubles together with Huang Tsung-hao as they lost the final to the second-seeded Indian pair of Rutuja Sampatrao Bhosale and Rohan Machanda Bopanna 2-6, 6-3, 10-4.
"It was beyond my expectations to sail into both finals. Many people cheered for us during the match. I really enjoyed the tournament and learned a lot," Liang said. ■