Wang Hao lost as Zhang Jike took the Liebherr Men’s World Cup Final 2011
Zhang Jike faced his compatriot, Wang Hao, in the final of the Liebherr Men’s World Cup 2011, as he came back and won the game after being down two games to nil.
Wang had still not fully recovered from the defeat that he faced during the World Championships finals at the hands of young Jike, and he ended up losing the World Cup as well.
Jike has now joined the league of Jorgen Persson and Kong Linghui, as the mentioned names are the only three players to secure the World Championships and the Men’s World Cup in the same year. Persson received the honour in 1991, while Kong in 1995.
This is Jike’s second success over Hao during the 2011 season. Wang started off strong as he won the first two sets without any real difficulty with the following scores, 7-11 and 7-11. Jike came back in the third set and was literally unstoppable.
Jike won the third set by 11-9 and was even more brilliant in the fourth and fifth sets, as he won the next two sets by 11-4 and 11-5.
Hao was helpless against the strong forehand and backhand combination of his fellow citizen and could not prolong the match till the final set. The game finished in the sixth set, as Jike won with a massive lead of 11-3.
Both the players have played against each other on eight different occasions during the ITTF World ranking tournaments. Wang has won five times, whereas Jike’s recent win has made his total to four and two out-of-final wins during the 2011 season.
Wang Hao was at the second position with 2807 points at the ITTF World rankings, while Zhang Jike was at the third slot with 2767 points to his credit.
The recent win by the 23-year-old will definitely earn him a spot or two higher in the World rankings. Ma Long is the top ranked player with a total number 2873 points under his belt.
Wang Hao is a world class player and there is no question about his skills but he could not match the speed and strengths of Zhang Jike in Paris.
Jike’s all round performance has won him the Liebherr Men’s World Cup final held on Sunday, November 13, 2011.
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