Ding Ning wins third women's singles title, Chinese duo crowned men's doubles champion

Xu Xin, left,/Fan Zhendong of China compete during the men's doubles final match against Morizono Masataka/Oshima Yuya of Japan at the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany, June 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xu and Fan defeated the number one seeds Masataka Morizono and Yuya Oshima of Japan 4-1 to win the men's doubles title.

Morizono and Oshima had their chances with multiple game points in the second and fourth game, but were unable to convert any of them. They also narrowly lost the first and the third games 11-9.

Fan, Xu and coach Wang Hao took to the court after the match with a Chinese flag in hand.

Fan Zhendong, center, Xu Xin, right, and coach Wang Hao waves to audience with a Chinese flag in hand after the men's doubles final match at the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany, June 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

"This is my first time winning gold in doubles," Fan said. "I'm very happy and lucky to be here."

In the men's singles quarterfinals, Olympic and world champion Ma Long beat Germany's superstar Timo Boll 4-2 in a thriller.

Boll put up a great show but Ma had all the answers for the 13-time German champion. He won in six games (11-5, 8-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-4, 11-9).

"This is my toughest match yet in the championship," Ma said. "It's sad that we lost in the doubles and hope this win will be a great match for the table tennis fans to remember."

Ma and Boll had paired up in the doubles but lost in the round of 16 to Fan and Xu.

In the other matches, Lee Sang-su of South Korea secured the first spot in the men's singles semifinals with a 4-1 win over Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong, China. Fan beat Japan's Niwa Koki 4-1 and Xu ousted Japan's 13-year-old sensation Harimoto Tomokazu with an identical score.

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