PARIS: China extended its dominance in table tennis by winning the Olympic women’s team event on Saturday (Aug 10), achieving a gold medal sweep for the country in the sport in Paris after the disappointment of dropping one in Tokyo.
China has now won 37 of the 42 golds since table tennis was introduced to the Summer Olympics in 1988.
In a repeat of the team event final three years ago in Tokyo, China faced Japan once again and triumphed 3-0, this time overcoming greater resistance and showcasing their comeback prowess in key moments.
Despite the scoreline, the victory in Paris seemed harder earned. China’s Chen Meng and Wang Manyu were tested from the start as they narrowly lost the first game to Japan’s Hina Hayata and Miwa Harimoto. The Chinese fought back to take two of the next three games and send the match to a decider.
The Japanese pair built up a 9-5 lead but Chen and Wang adjusted their tactics and levelled at 10-10 before closing out victory.
Hayata, who has been bothered by a wrist injury since the singles semi-finals, said she was not able to play to the best of her ability.
The Chinese players also got emotional, with Wang moved to tears after the victory.
“I felt that today’s doubles match was incredibly difficult for both of us. That kind of difficulty is something that only the two of us on the court could truly feel,” said Wang’s partner Chen, who has now finished her second Olympics with a total of four gold medals.
“But I believe that we could also sense that, no matter how tough it was, we both had great trust in each other.”
China’s Sun Yingsha also had her own comeback in the first game against Japan’s Miu Hirano, who at one point was leading 1-7. The huge gap that would usually spell the end of an 11-point game did not deter world number one Sun, who fought back to level it at 11-11 before eventually taking the game 13-11 and winning the match 3-0.
In the last challenge from the Japanese team, first-time Olympian Harimoto faced Wang in the third match. Harimoto took the opening game 14-12, prevailing with precise shots in backhand rallies, but the 16-year-old ended up losing to Wang in the next three.
The win meant China picked up all five table tennis golds on offer in Paris – for the men’s and women’s singles, the mixed doubles and the men’s and women’s teams. In Tokyo, they missed out on the mixed gold to Japan.
Earlier in the day, the Korean team of Shin Yubin, Jeon Jihee, and Lee Eunhye defeated Germany with three wins to clinch another bronze for their nation in table tennis, marking a long-awaited return to the podium in the event since 2008.
