Chen Qi finally conquers 2011 ITTF Pro Tour English Open
26-year-old Chinese table tennis Champion, Chen Qi won the finals of the 2011 English Open International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour. After an upset last year, Qi returned to the tournament with new hope.
Chen Qi was born in Nantong, China on 15 April 1984. He started to play table tennis at the age of five, joining the Sports school of Nantong at the age of six. He later became a member of his provincial team and paved the way to the National team number
two. He debuted in the National team number one in 2002 and is still a member of the National team of China.
His first victory came in the Doubles event when he paired up with the Ma Lin at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Qi is the youngest player ever to win the title. His first title in the ITTF Pro Tour events came in the 2004 Volkswagen open in Japan. He has been
in the top ten table tennis players for more than a decade, but most of the titles he won were either in doubles or team events.
For a long time Chen was struggling hard to the grasp singles title and his dream came true in the 2011 English Open ITTF Pro Tour. He defeated the second seeded Ma Lin in five games, 11-5, 11-4, 11-13, 14-12 and 11-4. The despair he felt losing the 2009
English Open ended with a feeling of pride and joy for Chen.
This victory was the most important one for him as fortune has really not been in his favour for the past three years, as he had a series of upsets in matches. Starting from the defeat in the finals of 2009 Men's World Cup, losing the semi finals of the
2010 German Open, he only participated in one Pro Tour ITTF event China Open, losing in the third round from his compatriot Ma Lin. This was an unexpected result as Qi was the favourite from the Chinese team.
Qi has come back with his break-through performance and has not looked back. Qi remained composed and surprised many from the skill he showed. Turning 27 on 15 April 2011, the Chinese player appeared for the 55th time in the ITTF Pro Tours.
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