In the sold-out South Paris Arena 4 with 6 400 spectators former world number one Dimitrij OVTCHAROV narrowly lost 3-4 to France’s 17-year-old superstar Felix LEBRUN in a high-level round of 16 match. The French fans including football star Zinedine ZIDANE and former tennis ace Henri LECONTE celebrated Felix LEBRUN with loud chants for his performance and advancement to the quarterfinals. Felix defeated Dimitrij OVTCHAROV with scores of 11-9 15-13 12-10 8-11 3-11 8-11 11-7 after OVTCHAROV recovered from a 0-3 deficit to level the match. “The pressure was high today and he fought back to even it at 3-3. But I think I managed it well and handled the key points. I think I managed my stress well. It was good that I started the match very well and I handled the key points well. I’m super happy about that. I started some games not so good. Ovtcharov is a very tough and experienced player and he never gives up. It was very difficult to beat him today. I knew even at 3-0 it would be hard for me. But at 3-3 the beginning of my game was very good with the crowd too and I tried to push myself with the crowd ” said Felix LEBRUN. Regarding the loudness the political magazine ‘Le Point’ stated on its website: “How can one describe the atmosphere during match point? We had fun measuring the decibel level in the hall at that moment: 116 which is between a rock concert and a Formula 1 racetrack.” After winning bronze in London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Dimitrij OVTCHAROV was denied a third Olympic medal in singles at the Summer Games. “I lost the first three games by two points. In the first game I missed a few chances to go ahead by two or three points and then lost 9-11. In the second game I had two set points where I played extremely confidently and hoped to somehow win the set ” said OVTCHAROV. Today was also a sad day for the older LEBRUN as Hugo CALDERANO of Brazil halted the progress of Alexis LEBRUN to the quarters with a 4-1 win (3-11 11-15 11-6 11-3 11-8). Earlier today in the first match of the Round of 16 session Sofia POLCANOVA won against Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS in straight games (12-10 11-4 13-11 11-9).

Swede Truls MÖREGÅRDH beat World No.1 WANG Chuqin to secure the spot of best 16 at the singles event at the Olympic Games in Paris. In the Men’s Singles at Paris 2024 MÖREGÅRDH has knocked out Chinese star and the Mixed Doubles gold medalist 4-2 (12-10 11-7 5-11 7-11 11-9 11-6). “I am still in shock ” Truls said. Truls MÖREGÅRDH had faced WANG Chuqin eight times before. The record: eight losses. In fact he had barely won a set against his nightmare opponent. But in Paris everything changed. “It feels completely crazy what just happened ” says the shocked Swede afterwards. “It’s absolutely the biggest thing I’ve ever done. Beating a world number one especially at the Olympics it doesn’t get bigger than that.” MÖREGÅRDH saved three game points in the first game and finally emerged victorious with 12–10. The 22-year-old celebrated vigorously with the crowd and continued his strong play in the second set winning it 11–7. The Chinese player was noticeably nervous. In the third game WANG Chuqin requested a timeout while leading 5–4. It paid off as the Chinese player came out strong and won 11–5. In the fourth Chuqin showed no mercy: 11–7 leveling the match at 2–2 in sets. But the Swede showed great resilience. In the fifth set Truls came back strong played offensively and won 11–9. In the fifth set the Swede became irritated with the Chinese player’s serves complained and received a yellow card from the umpire. However this only seemed to strengthen MÖREGÅRDH who took a 6–3 lead. MÖREGÅRDH played the best table tennis of his life and ultimately won 11–6. “I was playing fantastic table tennis. I stuck to my plan that I had and I really believed in it. I continued even if I lost two games in the middle. I’m just super happy and will try to recover as fast as I can. Normally I’m as nervous as always. This time I really felt that I should just let it all go and really believe in myself and play the table tennis that I like.”  Afterwards he threw himself on the floor barely able to believe his eyes. Thus he has surprisingly advanced in the Olympic table tennis. In the next round he will face CHENG Jui-Kao of Taiwan. The round of 16 match will be played on Wednesday evening at 20:00 – but that doesn’t bother Truls. “Wonderful. Just like when you were ten years old and just kept playing. It feels wonderful!” What was once a nightmare draw has now become a dream draw. “The path to a medal has opened up for everyone on our side (of the knockout bracket). I hope I can make it happen ” says Truls MÖREGÅRDH. Also in the round of 16 Darko JORGIC of Slovenia will play after beating Liam PITCHFORD of Great Britain (11–9 11–7 9–11 11–6 5–11 11–6). “We played against each other in the round of 32 in Tokyo and I beat him 4-2. I knew he would give his best to avenge that defeat ” explained JORGIC . “I barely won the opening game but it was comparatively easier to win the second one. I had a lead in the third but he came back into the game. I forced myself to stay calm when I lost it. However he put me under severe pressure by taking great risks. He won the fifth game and forced me into the danger zone. If it had gone to the seventh game no one knows how it could have ended.” In the next round he will meet LIN Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei. “Another player I met last time in Tokyo. He defeated me in the quarters in straight games. It is very hard for me to play against him but this is a new chance and I hope I will seize any opportunity. My primary goal was to reach the round of 16. My desire is to try to fight for a medal like in Japan when I reached the quarters.” Anders Lind is also in full swing having moved to the round of 32 after a thrilling seven-game victory over Poland’s Milosz Redzimski (12–10 6–11 11–6 6–11 11–9 9–11 11–9). The stands are singing as Jia Nan YUAN moves in to the round of 16 with a 4-1 (9-11 11-6 11-5 11-4 11-7) win over MO Zhang. Next up for the French star is a showdown with Women’s Singles 3rd seed Hina HAYATA.

WANG Chuqin and SUN Yingsha are the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Mixed Doubles Gold Medal Winners. The top seeds from China are the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Mixed Doubles gold medalists as WANG and SUN come out on top 4-2 (11-6 7-11 11-8 11-5 7-11 11-8) in an epic battle with RI Jong Sik and KIM Kum Yong. Korea Republic’s LIM Jonghoon and SHIN Yubin have secured the bronze medal after a dominant 4-0 victory over WONG Chun Ting and DOO Hoi Kem (HKG). The Korea Republic pair displayed exceptional form throughout the match winning 11-5 11-7 11-7 and 14-12 to claim the final podium spot. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas BACH was among the distinguished guests in attendance for the Mixed Doubles gold medal match happening in South Paris Arena. Joined by ITTF President Petra SÖRLING and IOC Member RYU Seungmin President BACH witnessed the first gold medal awarded in table tennis at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Olympic record medalist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV reached the round of the last 16 in Paris after his well-deserved 4-1 victory in the second-round match against Brazilian Vitor ISHIY. Now faces a duel for the quarterfinals against France’s 17-year-old superstar Felix LEBRUN. Meanwhile European runner-up Nina MITTELHAM is also fighting against North Korean Pyon Song GYONG for a place in the round of 16. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV after a 4-0 opening victory over Mexican Marcos MADRID put on another impressive performance in his second match against Vitor ISHIY winning confidently in five sets. The Brazilian’s set win after a 3-0 lead by the former world number one was however an avoidable blemish. In the fourth set OVTCHAROV after leading 10-6 and 12-11 missed five match points in a row before refocusing and converting his sixth match point in the fifth set for a secure 11-4 11-8 11-9 11-13 and 11-3 victory over the world number 86. “Vitor ISHIY is an unpleasant opponent who like Hugo Calderano plays with very high risk. When he hits his best shots he is strong. I sometimes caught his first shot but he then plays a strong second and third shot. Losing the fourth set after leading 10-6 hurt. That doesn’t happen to me often. But I can’t really blame myself. My shots were solid and he played his best table tennis with his back to the wall right before being knocked out. During the break I told myself come on you’re leading 3-1 and in the fifth set I tried to keep the intensity high from the first rally. That worked well and I quickly took the edge off him in the fifth set. In the end it was a solid game that I deservedly won ” said OVTCHAROV In the round of 16 Ovtcharov now faces the 17-year-old local hero Felix LeBrun. France’s world number four brings the South Paris Arena 4 with its 6 400 spectators to a roar with each of his performances creating the atmosphere of a football stadium. Dimitrij OVTCHAROV admits: “The next game will be exciting. After seeing the draw I had the possible duel with Felix in mind from the beginning. Now the level will of course be completely different. He is the world number four behind three Chinese players which speaks for itself. My respect for the development he has made is immense. I’ve been around for a long time and the Olympics are always something special. But here in France against Felix the hall will be rocking like I’ve never experienced before. Maybe I need to approach it like Novak DJOKOVIC who often draws energy from knowing the crowd is against him.” Bernadette SZOCS takes the first win on Day 4 overcoming Ukraine’s Margaryta PESOTSKA in five games (14-12 11-5 12-10 14-12 11-4). Next up for the Romanian is her doubles partner Sofia POLCANOVA in the Women’s Singles round of 16. 11th seed Nina MITTELHAM has been eliminated from the Women’s Singles. The German was shown an early exit by Pyon Song GYONG with the World No.168 winning in a full distance marathon (6-11 9-11 11-9 11-8 11-8 7-11 11-7). The match had plenty of drama with MITTELHAM requiring a medical timeout at one point early in the match but was quick to regroup and fight on. But PYON’S cool as a cucumber persona kept her shotmaking consistent until the last point. In all PRK took 66 points to Germany’s 65 showing just how narrow the margins are between victory and defeat here in Paris. Next up for PYON in the round of 16 is a matchup with Adriana DIAZ. Natalia BAJOR secured her first ever win over Fu YU. It was a marathon match with BAJOR crossing the finish line 4-3 (11-7 11-8 15-17 4-11 7-11 12-10 11-8). On winning the match BAJOR dropped the floor pumping her fist in celebration. Next stop a first-time showdown with Cheng I-CHING.

The Paris 2024 Olympics Mixed Doubles gold medal match is set featuring a clash between China’s World No.1 pair and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s surprise duo. The Mixed Doubles gold medal match is scheduled for 14:30. KIM Kum Yong and RI Jong Sik of PRK secured their spot in the gold medal match with a hard-fought victory. They edged out Hong Kong China’s WONG Chun Ting and DOO Hoi Kem 4-3 (11-3 10-12 3-11 11-9 11-9 9-11 11-6) in a tense semifinal. The PRK duo’s path to Paris began with a tight 4-3 win in the World Mixed Doubles Olympic Qualification Event final on 11 April 2024 — their first international outing as a team. Their Paris 2024 campaign kicked off with a major upset taking down 2nd seed Tomokazu HARIMOTO and Hina HAYATA of Japan in the opening round. Now they’ve secured PRK’s fifth Olympic table tennis medal and the first for a male PRK athlete. China’s WANG Chuqin and SUN Yingsha advanced to the final by defeating Korea Republic’s 3rd seed LIM Jonghoon and SHIN Yubin 4-2 (6-11 11-7 9-11 11-5 11-7 11-9). The Chinese pair enter as favourites with two ITTF World Championship crowns and four WTT Grand Smash titles to their name. They aim to claim the only gold that eluded China in Tokyo 2020.  Korea Republic and Hong Kong China will compete for bronze at 13:30 rounding out Mixed Doubles’ second Olympic appearance.

Day 3 of the Paris 2024 Olympics table tennis tournament saw some thrilling matches and surprising upsets. Ranked No. 62 Anders LIND of Denmark caused a major upset by defeating World No. 17 Marcos FREITAS of Portugal to secure his place in the Round of 32 with a 4-0 victory (11-9 11-6 11-8 11-4). “I am so happy to win my first match on my Olympic Games debut. I was so nervous before the match but fortunately the nerves disappeared when the match started. Though I am still not sure it is not a dream. I am afraid to hear the alarm clock wake me up. I never thought I would win 4-0 against FREITAS. So proud now ” said LIND. His coach Linus MERNSTEN praised his performance saying “His serve returns were fantastic. It was a perfect performance.” While Spain’s Alvaro ROBLES needed six games to overcome Austria’s Daniel HABESOHN (11-6 14-16 11-9 9-11 11-7 11-9) to advance to the Round of 32 Romania’s Ovidiu IONESCU was eliminated. World No. 68 Croatia’s Andrej GACINA defeated the Romanian ranked at No. 45 with a 4-1 victory (11-8 10-12 11-8 12-10 11-5). In the next round GACINA will face Yun-Ju LIN of Taipei. Fiji’s Vicky WU proved too weak for Liam PITCHFORD of Great Britain losing in straight sets (6-11 3-11 3-11 2-11). Jia Nan YUAN delighted the home crowd in Paris with a smooth start defeating Fatimo BELLO of Nigeria 4-0 (11-1 11-3 11-3 11-5) in their Round of 64 clash. The encounter lasted just 18 minutes three minutes faster than the previous fastest match in the Paris singles matches so far. In the Round of 32 YUAN will meet Mo ZHANG of Canada. In a similar style Nina MITTELHAM of Germany beat Minhyung JEE of Australia (11-7 11-9 11-7 11-8) to become the third German to reach the second round of the Olympic table tennis tournament. The European runner-up from Berlin will now compete for a spot in the Round of 16 just like her national teammates Dang QIU and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV who qualified yesterday and the day before. “I didn’t find her game unpleasant and didn’t have many issues with her spin. That also has to do with me feeling good overall. When my legs are working I play well against material players. When I was small around ten or twelve years old I played against anti-spin and long pips every day often against older players. You learn best through matches ” said MITTELHAM. “My nervousness was actually gone after the first two balls. It came back a bit at the end when it was time to close out the match. I played well and moved well. I hope it continues like this.” MITTELHAM acknowledges the challenge ahead: “I don’t know her. Together with my coach Tamy (Tamara BOROS) I watched her match against Doo Hoi KEM on the bus yesterday. We will analyze it thoroughly later. It will be a tough match. The North Koreans play without seeding but are incredibly good. You saw that in the mixed doubles where another North Korean reached the semifinals. You can’t underestimate them. I’m looking forward to the match. I have nothing to lose.” Poland’s Natalia BAJOR moved into the Round of 32 with a 4-3 victory (11-8 3-11 8-11 11-7 12-10 5-11 11-6) over Suthasini SAWETTABUT. Next up for BAJOR is a battle against Fu YU of Portugal. The Team Poland member will enter that match as the underdog with a 0:2 record against her opponent. However with their last matchup dating back to 2018 there could be plenty of surprises in store from BAJOR. The duel between Swede Linda BERGSTROM ranked No. 34 and Poland’s Katarzyna WEGRZYN ranked No. 134 concluded in favor of the lower-ranked player after five games (11-7 9-11 14-12 11-9 11-6).

Although known to be extremely polite and well-mannered Dang QIU did not give any birthday gifts to the Portuguese player Tiago APOLONIA on his 38th birthday. On the second day of play in the Round of 64 Dang QIU lost the first game 2:11 to the 2015 European Championship bronze medalist after a nervous start but then significantly improved his performance winning the next four games deservedly with 11-3 11-2 11-6 12-10. With this world-class performance Germany’s most consistent player of the last two years improved his international record against APOLONIA to 7:0. He had only lost to APOLONIA twice in the Bundesliga. Olympic debutant Dang QIU celebrated his victory with a raised fist and expressed great satisfaction with his first singles match. He quickly overcame the poor start: “2-11 was not an optimal Olympic start but APOLONIA played well too. I knew he would come out fighting here. I had to raise my level extremely and played great so I handled the 2-11 pretty well.” Dang QIU had already learned from a prominent source that initial tension and nervousness need to be overcome at the Olympics: “Dima OVTCHAROV told me: Eventually you shake off the nervousness. Once I’m moving the engine hopefully runs and then only the gameplay needs to work. For me that’s the most important thing: When the gameplay works I have a lot of confidence in my game and then opponents need to play at a high level to beat me. This certainty has given me a lot of confidence over the past few years and I hope it will be the same at the Olympics.” Now QIU will play Kazakh Kirill GERASSIMENKO today at 8 PM. The fantastic but extremely loud atmosphere in the hall created by the parallel match of Frenchman Alexis LEBRUN was taken in stride by Dang QIU. It only partially influenced his game: “You couldn’t hear the ball hit anymore. You couldn’t hear anything. But somehow that’s also awesome I have to say. That’s just the Olympic feeling and it’s fun. Especially when you win it’s fun. The LEBRUN brothers have worked just as hard for this and deserve every victory lap they can take.” It was a good day for the LEBRUN brothers in Paris. Alexis LEBRUN raced into the round of 32 of the Men’s Singles with a speedy 4-0 (11-6 11-5 11-6 11-6) win over Santiago LORENZO. Alexis follows his brother Felix into the round of 32; he clocked his win in at 26 minutes two minutes faster than Felix’s match. It took Felix LEBRUN less than 30 minutes to dispatch Harmeet DESAI securing his place in the round of 32 with a straight games win (11-8 11-8 11-6 11-8). It was a dream Olympic debut for the teenager and World No.5 but he will now be focused on keeping the show going. Next up for Felix LEBRUN is Sweden’s Anton KALLBERG. In women’s singles World No.75 Hana MATELOVA of the Czech Republic beat World No.15 Xiaoxin YANG of Monaco in six games (15-13 11-2 8-11 6-11 11-5 11-7). Next up for MATELOVA is a showdown with Dutch star Britt EERLAND in the round of 32. World No.74 only 17 years old Milosz REDZIMSKI of Poland reached the Round of 32 after his victory over Mohamed EL-BEIALI of Egypt ranked at position No.47.