Less than 24 hours after celebrating his gold medal win in the table tennis mixed doubles, China’s Wang Chuqin suffered a shock exit in the singles event to Sweden’s Truls Moregard, who played a spectacular match to advance to the round of 16 on Wednesday.
For the 22-year-old Moregard, it was his second ever victory over a Chinese player in international competition.
An ecstatic Moregard celebrated by shouting to the crowd, dancing on the floor, and drawing energy from spectators chanting his name.
“I have almost never taken a set against Wang, so it’s crazy to win here,” Moregard said. “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.”
The Swede won the first two games against world No. 1 Wang, who then fought back to even the score. In the critical fifth game, Wang narrowed the gap from 4-8 to 8-8 but eventually lost 9-11.
Chinese and European fans were divided in their support at the packed stadium, a rare sight for Moregard.
“I love the situation,” Moregard said. “I’ve played tournaments where no one is watching, and I’m really nervous. So this atmosphere is fantastic, and I really enjoy it.”
Wang, who had to switch to a backup paddle after the one he has been using during the Olympics was damaged by photographers, conceded that while it briefly affected his emotions, it was not the reason for his loss.
“I think the main reason was my own poor performance, which gave Moregard more opportunities,” Wang said. “I made a lot of mistakes, which gradually put me in a disadvantageous position.”
The burden of achieving China’s ambition for a gold medal sweep in table tennis now falls on Fan Zhendong, the only player left to defend China’s title in the men’s singles event. Fan advanced to the next round after defeating Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting with a 4-1 victory.
Sun Yingsha, who won her first Olympic gold medal a day earlier, also enjoyed a straightforward victory over 61-year-old Ni Xialian, a former Chinese world champion now representing Luxembourg.
In other notable performances, U.S. male player Kanak Jha achieved a personal best by advancing to the round of 16 after defeating Greece’s Panagiotis Gionis 4-2. Frenchwoman Yuan Jia Nan also made it to the round of 16, coming from behind to secure a 4-1 victory against Canada’s Zhang Mo.
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