Ma thunders past Boll to land Men’s Team gold for China
China is crowned Men’s Team champion for the fourth Olympic Games in a row after completing a resounding 3-0 victory over Germany. The third fixture saw Ma and Boll return to the table for the second time, and in similar fashion to the doubles it was the Chinese player who held the upper hand. Boll saves three gold medal points to take game three, but it’s not enough to dent Ma’s confidence (11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7) as China secured its return to the top step of the podium.
Another excellent performance from Ovtcharov but Germany suffers another loss (2-0)
One of the stars of Tokyo 2020, Dimitrij Ovtcharov has once again shown his quality at the table with a brave display against world number one Fan Zhendong. The German competitor held the lead twice with impressive performances in games one and three, but Fan kept his cool to take the match into the decider. Both players exhibited world-class attacking action with dramatic moments throughout, but there could only be one winner as Fan edged to a 3-2 victory (3-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-3).
Blistering performance from Ma and Xu as China takes the lead (1-0)
Ma Long and Xu Xin have delivered exactly what was expected of them in the opening fixture of the Men’s Team gold medal match, combining to victory in the doubles. The pair from China looked a class above opponents Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska from start to finish, showcasing some wonderful table tennis in a dominant 3-0 win over the German duo (11-7, 11-3, 11-9). One match down, and it’s China that leads this fascinating final.
Joy for Japan as host nation clinches bronze medal
Japan has secured the bronze medal in the Men’s Team event after beating the Republic of Korea 3-1. Jun Mizutani sealed the deal for the host nation after taking down Jang Woojin 3-0 in the fourth and final match. Despite Jeoung giving the Republic of Korea a glimmer of hope with his win in the third match, Mizutani, who won the historic Mixed Doubles gold medal earlier, delivered on the highest level once again by beating Jang 14-12, 11-9, 11-8 to give Japan glory.
“We are disappointed we were not able to win the gold medal but nevertheless, we are still pleased we got the bronze medal and this win goes out to those who have supported us. We knew the opening doubles match was important and we were confident after securing that first point,” said the Japanese trio.
“Losing the first match just put us under more pressure and our strategy did not work out the way we had planned. Credit to the Japanese as they were played better than us today,” said Lee.
Jeoung gives Koreans a lifeline (1-2)
Jeoung Youngsik beat Koki Niwa in straight games 3-0 to deny Japan the chance to clinch the bronze medal in the third game. Jeoung issued his strong statement of intent by winning the first game 11-3 in five minutes. He continued to underline his dominance by rallying past Niwa 11-8, 11-7 in the second and third game.
Harimoto puts Japan in the driving seat (2-0)
Tomokazu Harimoto has put Japan just one game away from winning the bronze medal after he outplayed Jang Woojin in the second singles match with a 3-1 victory. Harimoto got off to a rampant start with an opening 11-7 win the first game. Jang levelled the score by taking the second game 11-8. However, the 17-year-old continued to threaten and dispatched Jang in the next two games 12-10, 11-7.
Japan fires opening salvo (1-0)
Jun Mizutani and Koki Niwa have given Japan a morale-boosting start in the opening doubles match as they defeated Lee Sangsu and Jeoung Youngsik from the Republic of Korea 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 15-13, 11-5). The Japanese took the opening match in eight minutes but Lee and Jeoung came straight back into the match by clinching the second game. The battle heated up in the third game but the Japanese eventually triumphed 15-13 before they gave the host nation the lead by winning the fourth match 11-5.
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