Ma Long claimed his third successive men’s singles title at the World Championships as he sunk the European challenge from Sweden’s Mattias Falck in the final in Budapest.
The Chinese great won 4-1 (11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5) and was presented with the St Bride Vase by Table Tennis England Chairman Sandra Deaton at the medal ceremony.
He became only the third man in history to win three men’s singles titles in a row, after Victor Barna of Hungary and China’s Zhuang Zedong.
China won all five gold medals on offer in Budapest, though Sun Yingsha & Wang Manyu had to come from 2-0 down in the final match of the tournament, the women’s doubles final, against Japan’s Hina Hayata & Mima Ito.
Final results
Men’s Singles
Ma Long (CHN) bt Mattias Falck (SWE) 4-1 (11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5)
Women’s Singles
Liu Shiwen (CHN) bt Chen Meng (CHN) 4-2 (9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-0, 11-9)
Men’s Doubles
Ma Long & Wang Chuqin (CHN) bt Ovidiu Ionescu (ROU) & Alvaro Robles (ESP) 4-1 (11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-5)
Women’s Doubles
Sun Yingsha & Wang Manyu (CHN) bt Hina Hayata & Mima Ito (JPN) 4-2 (8-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-3, 12-10, 11-8)
Mixed Doubles
Xu Xin & Liu Shiwen (CHN) bt Maharu Yoshimura & Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN) 4-1 (11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4)