China's male paddlers kick off Olympic singles campaign with mixed feelings

China's Fan Zhendong (in blue) takes on France's Emmanuel Lebesson during the table tennis men's singles third round match at Tokyo 2020 on July 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

China's Fan Zhendong and Ma Long, seeded 1-2 in table tennis at Tokyo 2020, opened their men's singles campaign here on Tuesday with nervousness and excitement.

TOKYO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Fan Zhendong and Ma Long, seeded 1-2 in table tennis at Tokyo 2020, opened their men's singles campaign here on Tuesday with nervousness and excitement.

Fan claimed a straight-sets victory over Emmanuel Lebesson 11-3, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 to make the round of 16, where the world No. 1 will face Portugal's Marcos Freitas.

"I'm a little bit nervous at the very first Olympic match of my career, just as I expected," said the 24-year-old. "But I'm excited too, since the Olympic stage is so big and the best athletes in the world are gathering here."

"What really matters for me is to keep focused on my own game and to keep calm and prepared for whatever happens on this court," he added.

Fan's next match is just a few hours away, and the world No. 1 said he would focus solely on the evening session immediately.

"The tight schedule and the long trip between the Olympic village and the venues, are all parts of the competitions," he commented. "I'm not thinking too much of these kinds of problems."

China's Xu Xin (front R) talks to teammate Liu Shiwen during their table tennis mixed doubles final defeat to Mizutani Jun and Ito Mima of Japan on July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

China's Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen missed out on the first table tennis gold on offer at Tokyo 2020, going down to Japan's Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito on Monday evening, but Fan played down the significance of his teammates' failure.

"This is the Olympics," he said. "Cruel competitions are happening every day and everywhere. What I need to do is just to focus on my own game and move forward step by step to my ultimate goal."

Ma Long of China celebrates a point during his men's singles third round win against Kamal Achanta on July 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Fan was echoed by three-time Olympian Ma Long, who stumbled before beating Kamal Achanta of India 11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-4.

"No one can be really relaxed here since every game could be a crucial one," said the 32-year-old, a Grand Slam winner and the defending Olympic men's singles champion.

"It's the Olympics, where you can't say it's good or bad to be young or old," Ma added. "I just try to deal with every problem coming up to me, while my experience from previous Games might not help."