For the first time since Athens 2004, China will not win both gold and silver in men’s singles table tennis
PARIS: Sweden’s Truls Möregårdh pulled off the upset of the 2024 Paris Olympics after he defeated China’s Wang Chuqin, the top-ranked table tennis player in the world, in men’s singles action on Wednesday.
Möregårdh, who is ranked 26th in the world, beat Wang, who won gold in the mixed doubles tournament already, 4-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.
After Möregårdh took the first two games, Wang won the next two to even the match. In the final game, Wang fought back from an 8-4 deficit to tie it 8-8, but Möregårdh would come out on top in the end 11-9.
“I have almost never taken a set against Wang, so it’s crazy to win here,” Möregårdh said afterward. “I think how I played in the tactical game was really clever, and I didn’t feel that he had his best day at the beginning.”
Möregårdh later defeated Kao Cheng-Jui of Chinese Taipei 4-1 (14-16, 13-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-6) in the round of 16 later on Wednesday.
The Swede will next face World No. 22 Omar Assar of Egypt who advanced to the quarterfinals after a hard-fought 4-2 (8-11, 6-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9, 11-3) victory over Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko in the Round of 16.
While some may believe Wang’s play was affected by his use of a backup paddle after his main one was damaged by photographers rushing to get photos after the mixed doubles win on Tuesday, the 24-year-old seven-time World Champion was not putting out excuses for his defeat.
“It did affect my mood at the moment yesterday, but it wasn’t the reason for losing,” said Wang, who will be part of the team event for China on Aug. 6. “I made many mistakes today, which really led to the failure.”
Wang’s defeat means that, for the first time since Athens 2004, China will not win both gold and silver in the men’s singles event. Fan Zhendong, who won silver in Tokyo 2020, remains in contention for the country’s 33rd table tennis gold medal.
