On August 1, in the semifinals of the table tennis men's singles at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, a wonderful "Oriental Showdown" was staged. China's Fan Zhendong faced France's Lebrun and won easily 4-0 to reach the men's singles final. This game not only showed Fan Zhendong's excellent form, but also triggered a strong response from the audience.
After a fierce semi-final match, Fan Zhendong's form in the semi-finals was not affected in the slightest. At the beginning of the game, Fan Zhendong quickly gained an advantage with his steady ball path and excellent court control ability, and easily won the first game 11-6. In the next two games, Fan Zhendong became more and more courageous, and frequently scored wonderful points, winning the second and third games 11-7 and 11-4 respectively. In the fourth game, Fan Zhendong played even better, and it took only 11 minutes to lock up the victory with 11-6 and advance to the final with a score of 4-0. In the whole game, Fan Zhendong only took 30 minutes to complete the game, showing excellent state and on-the-spot performance ability.
With Fan Zhendong's wonderful performance, the audience's response was also particularly enthusiastic. Both the Chinese audience and the France audience added a lot of "gunpowder flavor" to this men's singles semifinal. The Chinese audience chanted "come on" and waved the national flag to cheer for Fan Zhendong. Coach Wang Hao couldn't help but clench his fists and cheer for the students.
And the France audience, although at home, did not show weakness at all. When the situation was unfavorable, they honked their horns one after another, trying to influence Fan Zhendong's state through sound interference. However, the noise did not have much impact on Fan Zhendong, who remained calm and won comfortably 4-0. The enthusiasm of the crowd also added a lot of excitement to the game.
In addition to the enthusiastic response of the audience, the attention of other table tennis players has also become a highlight of the game. Wang Chuqin and Liu Dingshuo, who had attracted wide attention for the "snickering" incident, both came to watch the game and applauded Fan Zhendong's performance.
It is worth mentioning that Wang Chuqin and Ma Long sat together, and the two watched the game together attentively and cheered for Fan Zhendong. As the protagonist of the "snickering" incident, Liu Dingshuo's state this time is also very different from the semifinals. When Fan Zhendong won the victory, Liu Dingshuo stood up and applauded him, and his face did not have the gloating expression he had before. It may be that he paid attention to his behavior after being scolded, or he really admired Fan Zhendong, no matter what the reason, Liu Dingshuo showed a positive side this time.
Looking back on Fan Zhendong's entire trip to Paris, it can be said to be thrilling. Especially in the semi-finals, the fierce confrontation with Tomokazu Zhang made the national audience even more worried. However, Fan Zhendong, who has experienced all this, not only was not crushed, but showed a better state in the semifinals.
Some viewers sighed that Fan Zhendong finally defeated the "inner demon" in his heart and stood up again, which was also moving. In the semifinals, Fan Zhendong has already shown his top strength, but he still can't hide his anxiety during the game. In this semi-final, Fan Zhendong played the whole game relaxedly, and everything was under control.
This also makes people look forward to Fan Zhendong's performance in the final. I believe that after these difficult journeys, Fan Zhendong will definitely appear in the finals with more confidence and calmness, and present a wonderful table tennis visual feast to the audience.