At 20:30 on the evening of August 4, Beijing time, the final of the men's singles table tennis event of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is about to kick off, against the athletes of the two sides are the main force of national table tennis Fan Zhendong and the Sweden star Moregard, which is also a replica of the 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships men's singles final between the two to compete for the championship.
As early as 24 years ago, Chinese and Swiss players met in the men's singles final of the Sydney Olympics, when Sweden's Grand Slam Waldner swept Liu Guoliang 3-0 to advance, and finally lost to Kong Linghui 2-3, achieving the latter's Grand Slam feat; Now that Moregard has also eliminated national table tennis player Wang Chuqin at the Paris Olympics, can Fan Zhendong defeat Sweden's strong opponents and achieve his own Grand Slam like Kong Linghui back then?
The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games has a very special significance for the world table tennis, not only because it is the first Olympic Games after the arrival of the new millennium, but also because after this battle, the International Table Tennis Federation will completely abandon the 38mm small ball in the official competition and use the 40mm large ball, which also means that the table tennis pattern will change dramatically, so all the players attach great importance to it.
Before the start of the Sydney Olympics, the national table tennis had lost to the Sweden team at the World Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur and missed the last team world champion in the small ball era, when Liu Guoliang lost Waldner and Persson, and Kong Linghui lost to Persson, so many fans think that the national table tennis will lose to Sweden again at the Sydney Olympics, which is indeed the case.
After the start of the Sydney Olympics, Sweden's Persson took the lead in the men's singles 1/4 finals, 3-1 against Liu Guozheng, who was still a rising star in national table tennis, but then lost in the semifinals to Kong Linghui, the number one main force of the Chinese team and who had lost to himself at the World Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur not long ago, and the two teams were tied.
As for the defending champion of national table tennis men's singles, Liu Guoliang lost 0-3 to Sweden's Waldner, and then Lao Wa advanced to the final to compete with Kong Linghui, as a result, Kong Linghui led 2-0 and then lost 2 games in a row, but in the end he narrowly won 3-2 to reach the top, and Liu Guoliang won 3-1 in the bronze medal battle against Persson, and finally all three Grand Slams were on the podium, becoming a classic moment for those who have never been seen before in the table tennis world and who are difficult to come after.
Compared with the Sydney Olympics, the pressure on the national table tennis men's singles at the Paris Olympics may be greater, because the quota for the Olympic Games has been reduced from three to two as early as 2012, and Wang Chuqin has fallen into the sand in the round of 32, which has led to the national table tennis men's singles only Fan Zhendong alone in the back match, almost losing to Japan's Tomokazu Zhang in the quarterfinals, but fortunately he finally withstood the pressure and successfully advanced to the semifinals and finals.
In the next men's singles final, the two teams of China and Sweden met again after 24 years, when Kong Linghui narrowly defeated Waldner in 5 games in Sydney, and now Fan Zhendong met Moregard, who is known as "Waldner's successor", who do you think can have the last laugh? Feel free to leave a comment here to write your predictions for the final results and scores!