Olympics | China's Fan wins table tennis men's singles title at Paris 2024

PARIS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's Fan Zhendong overcame Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-1 to win the table tennis men's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games here on Sunday.

Fan, 27, second seed in the event, outclassed the 22-year-old Olympic newcomer Moregard 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8, and 11-8 at the South Paris Arena 4.

Fan gave high praise to his Swedish opponent after the match. "He put a lot of pressure on me today. His playing style made me hard to get into my own rhythm, and I had to deal with every point very carefully."

"I lost the first set, then fell behind in the second and third set. If I didn't deal with some key points well, the result might be different," said Fan. "I believed in myself and was able to adjust and find solutions. I'm quite happy with that."

This is the second time that Fan competed in the Olympic men's singles final. At the Tokyo Olympics, he was defeated by his compatriot Ma Long 4-2.

"Without the experience from Tokyo 2020, I probably wouldn't be here today. Every failure or challenge helps you grow. The prerequisite is that you have the courage to face your failure," Fan said.

Moregard, who was defeated by Fan in the men's singles final at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston of the United States, eliminated the top-seeded Wang Chuqin of China in the round of 32 at Paris 2024.

Although Moregard failed to win the men's singles title at Paris 2024, this is the first time that Sweden has taken an Olympic medal in table tennis after the country's legendary Jan-Ove Waldner's silver at Sydney 2000.

Earlier on Sunday, host favorite Felix Lebrun claimed the bronze medal after beating Hugo Calderano of Brazil 4-0.