Historic Olympic table tennis gold for Japan in mixed doubles

Mizutani Jun (front R) and Ito Mima of Japan celebrate winning a point in their Tokyo 2020 table tennis mixed doubles final against Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen of China, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Japanese pair Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito took the first ever Olympic mixed doubles table tennis gold medal, beating Chinese paddlers Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen 4-3 in Monday's final.

TOKYO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito won the first ever Olympic gold medal in mixed doubles table tennis here on Monday, after overcoming reigning world champions Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen of China in a seven-set thriller final.

Unhappy with their second place finish, Liu burst into tears in the mixed zone. "I cannot accept this result. I feel sorry for our group," she said.

"The whole team has done a lot in our preparation, but we didn't play our best today, either in terms of the result or the process," Liu added.

Liu (L) and Xu take a break during the final. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

The result handed Japan its first table tennis Olympic gold medal since the sport debuted at the 1988 Games in Seoul. Japan had only taken two silver and two bronze medals in table tennis at previous Olympics.

China had claimed all four table tennis gold medals on offer at the previous three Olympic Games, but it will not be another clean sweep for the sport's powerhouse following Xu and Liu's defeat.

The mixed doubles was making its debut on the Olympic stage in Tokyo, with each association only eligible to dispatch one pair in the event.

In the clash between the tournament's top two seeds, Xu and Liu started well to build a 2-0 lead.

Tying at 7-7 in the third set, Mizutani and Ito gradually gained the upper hand with aggressive attacks, pulling one set back 11-8, and pocketing the two following sets 11-9, 11-9 to turn things around.

Xu (L) and Liu stand with their silver medals during the awards ceremony. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

"We had a good start leading 2-0, and had the chance to extend our advantage, but we failed midway through the process," rued Liu. "Our opponents maintained their quality performance, especially in the seventh set."

Said a victorious Mizutani, "When it got to 0-2, our game's momentum was awful. But something changed after winning the third game, and we got great momentum."

Xu and Liu took the sixth set 11-6 to force a decider, only to see the Japanese duo race 8-0 ahead en route to a 11-6 win.

Xu also regarded the third set as a turning point.

Jun Mizutani looks on as Ito Mima returns the ball. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

"We made some readjustments a little bit, but failed to grasp our opportunities. They were determined in striking the ball, especially in the last set, they did quite well in striving for points. We wanted to pull back point by point, but we were lacking in our tactics and technique," he commented.

Earlier on Monday, Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching of Chinese Taipei beat France's Emmanuel Lebesson and Yuan Jianan in straight sets to take the bronze medal.