When you gather the best of the best, the results are usually pretty darned okay. The 2020 China National Championships are no exception. With a domestic team which routinely dominates international competition competing amongst themselves, every event was tantamount to a world championship. The neck decoration got underway Wednesday, when Wang Manyu and Wang Chuqin claimed the mixed doubles national championship. Friday saw world #1 Chen Meng exert her dominance in women's singles, defeating Sun Yingsha in straight sets, (11-2, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9). "We both are familiar with each other, and the opponent’s offense is very powerful," said Chen. "Today, in these two games, I put my head down, only thinking about focusing on every point." Friday also saw the value of experience at work in men's doubles, as veterans Xu Xin and Ma Long (pictured) overcame a strong start from upstarts Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun, (8-11, 15-13, 14-12, 11-3, 11-3). Ma Long, the defending Olympic and World Champion, was quick to praise his junior teammates. "In recent years, young athletes have had a lot of impact," said Ma. "The key to winning today’s game is that we communicated more and worked hard to find changes when we were behind." Lefty penholder Xu Xin, a doubles specialist who also took silver in the mixed doubles, was equally laudatory of their young challengers. He also agreed with his teammate Ma about the key to doubles success. "I think communication is still the most important thing," said Xu. "I think we should really learn from young athletes. They have a more advanced play style." Saturday once again saw Chen Meng battling Sun Yingsha for a gold medal. No, it was not a scheduling error, but the women's doubles final. The dynamic duo of Chen Meng and Wang Manyu rallied from a 2-3 deficit to stun Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi, (11-13, 12-10, 11-5, 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6). "In this doubles final, we won under very difficult circumstances," said Wang, who doubled her doubles gold after her win Wednesday. "For me, it’s a test of winning the game when encountering difficulties." This left only the men's singles on Saturday, when world #1 Fan Zhendong took on newly minted doubles champ Ma Long. After falling behind 1-3, Fan showed why he is the man to beat with a furious rally for the championship (11-5, 12-14, 3-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7). With the win, Fan claimed not only the prestigious national championship, but also avenged a narrow defeat in the 2017 World Championships final. "Playing against Ma Long is very difficult," said Fan. "He goes all out in every game, and we all go all out." When you're playing the best of the best, what choice do you have?

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