The gold medal match in the Men’s team event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is set, with Sweden set to face off against table tennis powerhouse China. This showdown comes after Sweden’s upset over Japan and China’s victory against host nation France in the semifinals.
In a breathtaking turn of events on Wednesday night, Sweden made history by reaching their first-ever men’s team final at the Olympic Games, stunning Japan in a dramatic 3-2 showdown. The semifinal match saw Japan initially take a 2-0 lead, with Tomokazu Harimoto defeating Truls Moregard 3-1 (13-11, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10) and Hiroto Shinozuka and Shunsuke Togami besting Kristian Karlsson and Anton Kallberg 3-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7) in the doubles match. However, Sweden fought back, with Kristian Karlsson overcoming Shunsuke Togami 3-1 (7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5), and Truls Moregard leveling the tie by defeating Hiroto Shinozuka 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9). The tie was forced to a decider, where Anton Kallberg staged a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to defeat Tomokazu Harimoto 3-2 (9-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9). Sweden’s historic victory not only guarantees them a medal but also sets up an exciting final against the top-seeded Chinese team.
On Thursday, the action started with the other Men’s Team Semifinal clash. China, a team that has won all the men’s team gold medals since the event’s introduction at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, continued their quest for a fifth consecutive title with a hard-fought 3-0 victory over France. The match began with Wang Chuqin and Ma Long securing a commanding 3-0 (13-11, 11-5, 11-2) win against Simon Gauzy and Alexis Lebrun in the doubles match. Fan Zhendong then extended China’s lead by overcoming a spirited challenge from Félix Lebrun, winning 3-1 (11-3, 13-11, 8-11, 16-14). France’s hopes came to an end when Wang Chuqin sealed China’s place in the final by defeating Alexis Lebrun 3-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-1). With their victory, China moves on to the gold medal match against Sweden, while France will battle Japan for the bronze medal on Friday at 10:00. (GMT+2)
The gold medal match between Sweden and China will take place on Friday, 9 August 2024 from, 15:00 (GMT+2), but there’s still more action today, with the Women’s Team semifinals matches getting underway from 15:00 (GMT+2), starting with China’s Women taking on Korea Republic before Germany takes on Japan at 20:00 (GMT+2).Full match schedules and live results are available here.
Credit: ITTF