China wins Olympic table tennis mixed doubles gold
China's world No. 1 team, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, have finally completed their major title collection by winning their first mixed doubles Olympic gold medal in Paris, paving the way for China's clean sweep of all five titles.
Roared on by an enthusiastic crowd, mainly Chinese fans, at the South Paris Arena, Wang and Sun, the men's and women's reigning world No. 1 players respectively, held off a strong comeback from Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to prevail 4-2 in the high-profile final on Tuesday and secured the first gold medal up for grabs in table tennis at the Paris Olympics.
Having won almost every major trophy together, including two mixed doubles world championship titles in 2021 and 2023, Wang and Sun relished their first Olympic gold together as a special one, particularly following Team China's final loss to host Japan in the mixed event's Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021.
"This mixed doubles gold is probably the medal I wanted the most. I have to thank everyone around us who contributed to this win," said Wang, a six-time world champion across men's team, men's doubles and mixed doubles.
"It was the work and effort of everyone that helped us pull it off. We put in so much for this gold, it now all feels worth it. This is not just our glory, it belongs to the entire team."
In the Tokyo Games mixed doubles final, Japanese pair Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito outlasted China's Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen 4-3 in a seven-set thriller to snatch the very first mixed doubles Olympic gold, denying China's attempt to bag all five gold medals.
Now, with Tuesday's win opening its Paris 2024 campaign on a high note, Team China will go all out to achieve a gold medal clean sweep in Paris with four more events - men's and women's singles and teams - to go.
"I feel like a heavy stone was released from my heart. It was a big relief to get this one done. There are more to go for sure. Hopefully we could build on this opening victory to secure Team China's dominance in other events," said Wang.
Sun attributed the triumph to the chemistry she's developed with Wang since they first started to play doubles in 2017.
"I'm thankful to my partner for all the work we put in over the last three years. We've known each other since we were kids and grew up together. We're pleased with the result today, and hope we'll be able to continue to do well in the coming events," she said.
sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn
