Paris Olympics: Fan spins, slices and smashes way to first singles gold, sealing grand slam
- Fan Zhendong shows strength of mind as well as skill to add men’s title to ones secured at World Championships and World Cup
Fan Zhendong spun, sliced and smashed his way to men’s table tennis Olympic gold at a euphoric South Paris Arena 4 on Sunday.
The exceptional China star overcame the loss of the first game and five dropped gold medal points against resurgent Swede Truls Moregard to win 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 and stretch China’s dominance of this event to a fifth Games.
Fan was beaten in the Tokyo Olympics final by legendary compatriot Ma Long. Some supporters at home questioned the selectors’ decision to deny world No 3 Ma, who was also champion at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the chance of going for a third straight singles gold.
The pressure on world No 4 Fan was inescapable, then, and the scrutiny on his performances only heightened after Moregard stunned Wang Chuqin, the world No 1, in round two.
“In a tournament, you don’t think so much about the things that perhaps the public care more about,” Fan said. “As an athlete, it’s better that you focus on the competition, get into the momentum, only then you can have a good result. I purely thought about fighting for victory today. I don’t think so much about my personal achievements.”
Fan has shown the strength of mind to match his powers of recovery over a compelling week in the French capital.
