Ma Long defends table tennis men's singles gold at Tokyo Olympics

CGTN

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Team China's Ma Long reacts during the table tennis men's singles final against Fan Zhendong at the Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, July 30, 2021. /CFP

China's Ma Long became the first male table tennis player to win back-back Olympic titles in singles competition after outclassing world number one and teammate Fan Zhendong 4-2 in the final at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday.

Ma won the duel 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7 in front of International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

It's the third straight final contested between the Chinese duo in major events, after the ITTF World Cup and the ITTF Finals in November last year. They won one apiece in the previous two clashes.

Earlier on Friday, Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov bagged the bronze medal after beating Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei in a seven-set thriller.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency