Could China restore its dynasty? That was the major question that loomed over the South Paris Arena in anticipation of the Olympic table tennis tournament.
For years — no, decades — China wasn't just synonymous with the word table tennis, it was table tennis. Since 2008, China had won every gold medal in table tennis in the Olympics. But in Tokyo, a singular gold medal slipped through China's grasp, as the Japanese mixed doubles team of Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito seized the title, and China dropped it's first Olympic gold medal in 12 years.
In Paris, China was determined to restore the reign of sport it had for years.
Ultimately, China completed a gilded clean sweep, and left no ball unpunished, faced no opponent too powerful and once again hoisted every gold medal in the table tennis game.
While China basks in its smashing supremacy once again, the Paris Games unveiled a new crop of contenders determined to dethrone China at the next Games.
Relive the top moments from each discipline below.
FULL REPLAYS: TABLE TENNIS
RESULTS: TABLE TENNIS
FULL GOLD MEDAL MATCH REPLAYS: Women's Singles | Men's Singles | Women's Team | Men's Team | Mixed Doubles
FULL BRONZE MEDAL MATCH REPLAYS: Women's Singles | Men's Singles | Women's Team | Men's Team | Mixed Doubles
Medal table
| Country | 🥇-🥈-🥉 | Total |
|---|---|---|
| China | 5 - 1 - 0 | 6 |
| Sweden | 0 - 2 - 0 | 2 |
| Japan | 0 - 1 - 1 | 2 |
| France | 0 - 0 - 2 | 2 |
| South Korea | 0 - 0 - 2 | 2 |
| North Korea | 0 - 1 - 0 | 1 |
Women's singles
The women's singles tournament had a mix of decorated veterans, rookie newcomers and special stories that only the Olympics could provide.
The oldest athlete competing in table tennis in Paris was Ni Xialian, aged 61. The former Chinese champion, who now represents Luxemborg, lost to eventual silver medalist Sun Yingsha in the Round of 32.
Hina Hayata of Japan debuted in Paris with plenty of pressure. As the third seed in women's singles, Hinayata entered the games as a constant fixture in the world's Top 10 since February 2022. Early in the tournament, she suffered a left wrist injury, and in an effort to increase her medal outcome, she adjusted her play style to focus on using her forehand instead of her backhand. She ultimately captured bronze, and secured Japan's second medal in the women's singles event.
History repeated itself for China's defending champion Chen Meng when she beat teammate Sun Yingsha 4-2 to win the women's singles table tennis gold medal at the Paris Olympics, just as she had done at the Tokyo Games.
The 23-year-old Sun, who was consoled by Chen with a hug after the loss, said she will fight for gold again in four years' time in Los Angeles.
Medalists
Gold: Chen Meng, China
Silver: Sun Yingsha, China
Bronze: Hina Hayata, Japan
Men's singles
Notably absent from the men's singles event was Ma Long, the greatest table tennis player of all time. Prior to the Paris Games, Ma announced that Paris would be his last Olympics, and that he would only compete in the teams event.
Ma's absence, while felt by the fans, was a boon for the rest of draw, and meant that a new champion would be crowned.
On his home soil, 17-year-old Felix Lebrun had a resounding Olympic debut, and captured the hearts of his fellow French men and women with his phenomenal paddling over the singles tournament. Dubbed "King Lebrun" by his fans, Lebrun won the bronze.
With compatriot Ma out of the competition, China's Fan Zhendong was ready to ascend to the Olympic throne. He just had one major obstacle in his way: a 17-year-old from Sweden named Truls Moregard.
Moregard had a Cinderella run in Paris. As the No. 19 seed, he played a deceptive table tennis game, thwarting his opponents with powerful counter shots and sliced returns. His creative table top play led him to slay the greatest player in the game currently, Wang Chuqin.
Moregard met Fan in the men's singles final, but fell to the two-time gold medalist, 4-1.
Medalists
Gold: Fan Zhendong, China
Silver: Truls Moregard, Sweden
Bronze: Felix Lebrun, France
Women's teams
Brazil's Bruna Alexandre, an adorned Paralympian, made her historic Olympic debut. Alexandre and Team Brazil suffered a Round of 16 loss against top seed South Korea, but her presence at the Games is just one of a few rare athletes who have competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics.
The German team, led by 18-year-old Annett Kaufmann, came close to finally capturing a medal, but fell to South Korea in the bronze medal final. The loss cut extra deep for Germany, as they also failed to win the bronze in Tokyo. Kauffman left an indelible mark in her Games debut. During her time in Paris, the world ranked No. 100 has handled some of the heavyweights of table tennis with ease, beating the world No. 25 Manika Batra and the No. 12 Miwa Harimoto decidedly in the teams matches.
The Chinese women's team, in a repeat from the Tokyo Olympic Games, overcame Japan to capture the women's teams gold medal in the final. Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, and Wang Manyu were all members of China's Tokyo team as well as the Paris squad. The final win for China in Paris compensated for the disappointment of missing out on the gold medal sweep in Tokyo, and historically, is the 300th medal the country has captured since the country's participation in summer Games.
Medalists
Gold: Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Sun Yingsha, China
Silver: Hina Hiyata, Miu Hirano, Miwa Harimoto, Japan
Bronze: Joeh Jihee, Shin Yubin, Lee Eunhye, South Korea
Men's teams
Table tennis titan Ma Long finally made his long-awaited return to the Olympic table, and simultaneously his golden farewell.
The Chinese men's team captured the country's fourth golden medal of the tournament in the final, defeating the surprise Swedish men's team 3-0.
The win was a perfect sendoff for the Ma, who announced prior to the Games that Paris would be his last Olympic appearance. In total, he has won six gold medals, the most of any table tennis player.
The silver medal that Sweden won was the second it captured in Paris, capping an unexpected run in the tournament.
“Now [winning a silver medal] will be forever in my career," Truls Moregard said. "Forever in my life that I could take two medals here. This is super big. I took two silver medals in the biggest competition of them all, it feels incredible.”
Felix Lebrun teamed up with brother Alexis Lebrun and Simon Gauzy to clinch the country's first-ever medal in then team's event. Les boys in bleu dispatched the determined Japanese team, 3-2.
“It's incredible. Like a memory for all my life," Felix said. "So proud to win that medal with them. That was an incredible feeling that I will remember for sure.”
Felix's success at the South Paris Arena has made him the youngest athlete to win two medals in Paris.
Medalists
Gold: Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Wang Chuqin, China
Silver: Anton Kallberg, Kristian Karlsson, Truls Moregard, Sweden
Bronze: Simon Gauzy, Alexis Lebrun, Felix Lebrun, France
Mixed teams
The mixed teams event was the most anticipated event of the table tennis tournament, as China was looking to take the title back after losing it in 2020.
China's Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha beat North Korea's Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong 4-2 in the table tennis mixed doubles final, and was the first step in China's gold medal sweep of the event.
North Korean pair Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yon's silver medal was a welcome win after their country did not participate in Tokyo.
First-time Olympians Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin of South Korea defeated Hong Kong to claim the bronze.
Medalists
Gold: Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, China
Silver: Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong, North Korea
Bronze: Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yubin, South Korea