In a dominant display, Fan Zhendong has crushed French hopes of a gold medal by defeating home favorite Felix Lebrun 4-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4) to secure his spot in the Olympic men’s singles final. The Chinese star, determined to improve upon his silver medal from Tokyo 2020, silenced the roaring French crowd with a clinical performance. Lebrun, who had captured the hearts of his country with a remarkable run, will now fight for the bronze medal. Despite the loss, Lebrun has undoubtedly elevated the sport’s profile in France and will aim to end his campaign on a positive note. Fan Zhendong, the second seed, now awaits his opponent for the gold medal match, either Hugo Calderano or Truls Moregard.
After his victory, Fan Zhendong celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo's signature "Calm down" gesture, signaling his confidence and composure.
It’s important that I was prepared for a tough battle today. It’s normal in a semifinal. I played it as I would any other match. I was feeling quite confident from my win in the quarterfinal yesterday, and I executed my plan and strategy quite well today, so I’m happy about that… The scoreline was unexpected for me. I thought every match would be as tough as my 4-3 win in the quarterfinal against Harimoto Tomokazu last night. But no matter how it turns out, I just want to enjoy each match as much as I can,” Fan Zhendong said after the match
In a stunning upset, Truls Moregard has ended Sweden's 24-year wait for an Olympic table tennis medal by defeating Brazil’s Hugo Calderano and securing his place in the final. Moregard's brilliant performance has earned him a spot in the gold medal match and captured the hearts of fans worldwide with his incredible run in Paris.
Truls himself could hardly believe that he had just secured a place in the Olympic final. The Swedish sensation’s reaction was one of pure shock and disbelief, making the moment even more memorable.