Chinese table tennis players in win non-shock. There is a dry Swede aboard and Spanish gold too.
Table tennis manners
Gary Lineker, the British former footballer turned broadcaster, once quipped that football was a simple game in which 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end the Germans win. Ach ja, the British sense of humours. But apply the sentiment to table tennis and at the end ... the Chinese win. Since the introduction of the team event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China have lifted the men's title. The women have snaffled the top prize too and were set to play Japan on Day 15 to try and emulate their male compatriots. The men, who beat Sweden 3-0 to make it five in a row, contained a team with Long Ma – considered to be one of the greatest players – as well as the world number one Chuqin Wang and Zhendong Fan, the world number two.
Kristian spirit
Valiant were the Swedes. The master of ceremonies at the South Paris Arena was doing his level best to big up the Scandinvians as dark horses. Really? Swedes? Dark? Should have gone with the line of blonde ambition. Tally-ho, ho, ho. That would have been quirky and maybe a bit controversial. The Chinese, hunting for a fifth straight title, didn't start the team competition well. The duo of Long Ma and Chuqin Wang lost the opening game to Anton Kallbert and Kristian Karlsson before winning the encounter 3-2. Karlsson came back later to face Wang, the world number one, in a singles match with China needing victory to retain the title. The 33-year-old Swede saved a match point in the third game before winning it, the fourth game and forcing a decider where he was routed. Cue the Chinese celebrations. Karlsson's analysis was wry. "It's not real – those three guys. There should be rules against having people like that in the same team."
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And it is just not a Kristian Karlsson thing. The France team of Simon Gauzy and the Lebrun boys Felix and Alexis, lost to the Chinese in the semi-finals before going on to beat Japan to take the bronze. "It's a dream come true to win an Olympic medal and to be on the podium," said Gauzy. "The Chinese were extraordinary. We knew they were extremely strong, but even when they have periods of playing a little less well, they're still performing at a level above the rest of us. Quite simply, they have the three best players in the world together and they've shown it as a team."
Comebacks and setbacks
So very close for the France men's football team against Spain in the final. France were seeking a first Olympic football title since 1984. And they took the lead at the Parc des Princes before experiencing the Spanish inquisition into their defensive abilities. Spain led 3-1 with 11 minutes to go only to allow the French to level at 3-3 and force extra-time. Cue Sergio Camello who scored twice to give the Spaniards the crown to add to their victory in Barcelona in 1992. That Spanish team contained Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. Whatever happened to those two?
Tracking down
The testosterone overload moment or the men's 400m hurdles final was presented as the clash between the supreme beings of the discipline. Defending champion Karsten Warholme from Norway, Rai Benjamin from the United States – who won silver in Tokyo – and Alison dos Santos from Brazil. Benjamin and Warholm swapped places. Dos Santos, as in Tokyo, took bronze. After three silver medals in races at the Olympics and world championships, it was a somewhat relieved Mr Benjamin. “I got it done,” said the 27-year-old. ”It has eluded me so long. ... I don’t think I ever doubted it. It was more just staying patient and keep showing up every day and something has to shake. I told myself: ‘This has got to go my way at some point.’ And it went my way today.”
