The 2020 China National Table Tennis Championships had a little something for everyone, but treated fans of upsets and comebacks especially well. Concluding yesterday in the Shandong province's Weihai Nanhai Olympic Center, the domestic contest featured world-class drama from world-class players. In the women's team final, local favorites Shandong, led by world Chen Meng, hosted world Sun Yingsha and her Hebei team. Matters commenced in accordance with expectation when world #3 Sun dispensed with world #40 Gu Yuting, giving Hebei an early lead. Most likely expected world #1 Chen Meng to notch the equalizer for Shandong against world #18 He Zhuojia, and the first two games submitted little evidence to the contrary. Then, a funny thing happened. He won the next game, then the next. Next thing you know, it's deuce in the deciding fifth game. After a tense seesaw battle, it is the upstart He Zhuojia who pulls off the upset, 17-15. Hebei looked to unranked Zang Xiaotong to seal the deal. She was pitted against the hosts' last hope, world #309 Wang Xiaotong. With incalculable momentum working in their favor, Hebei secured the 3-0 sweep of Shandong with Zang's 3-0 sweep of Wang. Hebei team captain Sun Yingsha was pleased with the proceedings, especially the perhaps unexpected help from her teammates. "This is the first time that I won the National Championships team event," said Sun. "The three of us played very well. We each carried out our jobs in our respective matches and we are very satisfied with the result." The men's team final also saw comebacks and upsets. The much-ballyhooed Beijing squad boasted not only world #12 Wang Chuqin but living legend Ma Long, the defending Olympic and World Champion ranked third in the world. They faced the Guangdong team, captained by "The Dark Knight," world #5 Lin Gaoyuan. Beijing rolled to a 2-0 lead and appeared poised to claim the championship when youth was pitted against experience. Beijing fielded 19-year-old Liu Yebo against Guangdong's last hope, 35-year-old Zhang Chao. While Liu is listed at a modest #551 in the world, Zhang is not even ranked due to a lack of recent international competition. The operative word here is "recent," as Zhang won the 2011 World Championship in mixed doubles. His experience carried him to a win over Liu, setting up an epic clash between Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan. In five furious games, Lin upset Ma to set up the winner-take-all fifth match. When Guangdong's world #123 Zhou Qihao upset world #12 Wang Chuqin, the improbable comeback from 0-2 down was completed. With so many comebacks and upsets, the 2020 China National Table Tennis Championships offered thrills aplenty. Only those who were the victims of said upsets, along with the idiosyncratic few who derive unaccountable pleasure from predictable results, were left disappointed.

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