Kids these days. It is not with curmudgeonly dismissiveness but genuine awe that fans of table tennis might utter these words, complete with a sigh and a disbelieving shake of the head. Case in point: The top three finishers at the 2019 ITTF Men's World Cup are 22, 16 and 18 years of age, for an average of just under 19. The prestigious annual tournament, one third of the Grand Slam along with the Olympics and the World Championship, was held November 29 to December 1 in Chengdu, China. World #1 Fan Zhendong of China won his third World Cup in four years. The 22-year-old reflected on how quickly he had gone from scrappy upstart to prohibitive favorite. "I realized that the situation has changed in the past three years," said Fan after defeating 16-year-old Tomokazu Hariomoto 4-2 in the final. "I'm no longer the surprise figure to the world's veteran players but the one to target on for the younger generation," elaborated Fan. "With more eyes on me, I must be humble, be focused and play more impressive table tennis." And impress Fan did, as opponents young and old fell by the wayside. In the semifinals, he bested 18-year-old Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei 4-0. In previous rounds, Fan had eluded the grasps of two of the six players north of 30 in the tournament: Austria's Daniel Habesohn, 33, and German evergreen Timo Boll, 38. The other geriatric contenders were Ma Long (China), Quadri Aruna (Nigeria) and Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Germany), all 31, and timeless Belarusian Vladimir Samsonov, 43. While there are countless advantages to be gained over time, from strategy to emotional maturity, clearly there is no match for youthful reflexes and stamina. Ma Long did reach the semifinals, but he was the exception that proved the rule. At 16, Harimoto is the youngest finalist in World Cup history. At 18, Lin is its youngest-ever third place finisher. With the 22-year-old champion Fan already worried about the "younger generation," any player not born in the 21st century seems to face long odds. Kids these days, eh?

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