Germany’s women will play against India in the Olympic tournament in Paris on Wednesday (10 AM) for a place in the semifinals. Without injured top player Nina MITTELHAM veteran Xiaona SHAN and debutants Annett KAUFMANN and Yuan WAN defeated the USA team in a round of 16 thriller with a 3-2 victory. In her Olympic debut 18-year-old German champion Annett KAUFMANN became the match winner winning both her singles matches. This evening at 8 PM Germany’s men’s team will face European champions Sweden in a quarterfinal rematch of the European Championship final in Malmö 2023 at South Paris Arena 4. The Germany team fought their way into the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games with an impressive 3-2 victory over the USA in the round of 16 despite facing numerous challenges. The fourth-place team from Tokyo 2020 and silver medalists from Rio 2016 who already had to cope without defensive artist Ying HAN (Achilles tendon tear) before the Summer Games also had to do without world No. 17 Nina MITTELHAM who was injured in the singles tournament in Paris. All three players contributed to the victory with debutants Annett KAUFMANN and Yuan WAN making decisive impacts against the North Americans. National coach Tamara Boros was relieved after the success: “Nina’s injury was the next shock for us after we already had to travel without Ying. But we knew that we still had a good team and a chance against the USA. It was a 50:50 game but we had no pressure. I’m really happy we made it today. This whole year has been very very difficult for us due to many injuries in the team. We are playing here without our number one and two players. We have no pressure anymore but we have to fight for every point and show good team spirit. We achieved that today. Now we can enjoy the Olympics a little longer and will never give up.” Annett KAUFMANN just 18 years old became the match winner in the duel against the USA. Placed in the top position by national coach Tamara BOROS the European champion in all youth categories delivered an impressive and perfect Olympic debut with two victories. In her first singles match she didn’t lose a game to US top player Lily ZHANG securing Germany’s 2-0 lead. Later she kept her nerves in the decisive fifth game against Rachel SUNG winning in four games after losing the first one. Annett KAUFMANN could hardly put her emotions into words after the match: “I am overwhelmed by my emotions. It feels a bit like a dream: the hall the fans from all over the world my name being called out. Plus the girls on the bench cheering me on. It’s crazy! In the end I was the only one playing in this hall as all the other matches had finished. It was an incredible atmosphere that I have never experienced in my 14 years of playing table tennis.” Regarding the decisive singles match Kaufmann said: “I was very nervous in the first set. I don’t often play against other left-handers and don’t always enjoy it. She played a bit awkwardly for me. I then focused more on the tactics and tried to stay varied which allowed me to take the lead. But she fought back. Tamy (coach Tamara BOROS) and the girls gave me confidence and assurance. Without them I wouldn’t have been as good.” DTTB Women Face India for a Spot in the Semifinals on Wednesday.

Sweden was the underdog against the heavy favorites the Tokyo 2020 Women’s Teams bronze medalists Hong Kong. Then the Swedish women’s team pulled off a historic upset in the Round of 16 at the Olympic Games. “It’s gigantic. Completely insane!” said Linda BERGSTRÖM for Sport Bladet.  The match seemed never-ending. It was only after nearly four hours of a nail-biting match (around midnight) that it became clear that Sweden had eliminated Hong Kong with a 3–2 victory. Stina KÄLLBERG sustained an injury during her decisive game against DOO Hoi Kem – but still managed to rise and win her singles match. The key victory organizer was Linda BERGSTRÖM. Sweden’s highest-ranked player showed no mercy and won her two matches against ZHU Chengzhu and LEE Ho Ching with very convincing and controlled performances. Afterwards the crowd who know France-based professional BERGSTRÖM from before stood up and chanted “Linda! Linda! Linda!”. “We love playing together. Me Stina Filippa Bergand and Matilda (HANSSON) who is a reserve. We want to do this together and just being at an Olympics is so huge for our women’s national team. We’ve believed we could win and now we are ” said BERGSTRÖM. “This is gigantic. There are no words for it: completely insane.” The victory came against a Hong Kong team that took bronze at both the World Championships this spring and the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Sweden on the other hand had never before reached the team event at the Olympics and was the second lowest-ranked nation in the entire tournament. “We’ve never done anything bigger as a team. I’ve been around for 13 years and during my time we have a European Championships bronze in 2013. But now that we’re in the top eight at an Olympics? It’s hard to explain what it means. We are about a thousand female players in Sweden and achieving this is so huge for us ” explained BERGSTRÖM. National coach Tobias BERGMAN was deeply impressed by his players. “Absolutely enormous. It’s the first time we have a team that has qualified for the Olympics and now we are in the top eight in the world. I don’t know all of Swedish table tennis history but in my eyes this is the biggest thing that’s happened in Swedish women’s table tennis in modern times.” At 15:00 on Tuesday Sweden will face South Korea in the quarterfinals. “We’re going to do the same thing as against Hong Kong. Go in with our fighting spirit do it together and put pressure on South Korea ” concluded Filippa BERGAND. Women’s Teams Event France falls: It’s a round of 16 exit for the hosts in the Women’s Teams as Thailand defeats France 3-2. A showdown between Jinnipa SAWETTABUT and Charlotte LUTZ decided the result as SAWETTABUT needed three team match points to close things out in the decider (11-8 10-12 11-8 5-11 13-11). Thailand now faces 2nd seeds Japan in the quarterfinal. Men’s Event Highlights In the Men’s event Paris 2024 is Timo BOLL’S final event before retiring from international table tennis and it’s off to a flying start. Germany scored a 3-0 win over Canada with BOLL contributing both a doubles and singles win to the total. Next Germany will face off with Sweden. Team France is through to the Men’s Teams quarterfinal moving past Slovenia 3-0. Alexis LEBRUN closed out the match with a 3-1 (11-8 6-11 11-4 11-5) win over Deni KOZUL. Previously Felix LEBRUN narrowly held back Darko Jorgic 11-9 in the fifth to move France in front 2-0. Next up for the hosts is a showdown with Brazil. Brazil‘s Performance Brazil in the Men’s Teams beat Portugal 3-1. Vitor ISHIY sealed the deal with a dramatic 3-2 (14-12 8-11 8-11 11-9 14-12) win over Joao GERALDO.

The Women’s Singles table tennis event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has reached its thrilling conclusion marked by thrilling victories. CHEN Meng successfully defended her Olympic women’s singles title triumphing over world number 1 SUN Yingsha in an exhilarating final. The 2nd seed clinched victory with a 4-2 (4-11 11-7 11-4 9-11 11-9 11-6) win joining an elite group of players who have won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in table tennis following in the footsteps of DENG Yaping (1992 1996) and ZHANG Yining (2004 2008).  Speaking after her win CHEN Meng said “There are no failures in this gold medal match. To be able to win another gold and silver for China table tennis we’ve both done our jobs. We were playing for our own dreams out there. I was the underdog today. I didn’t think about winning the match so I’m quite surprised myself. It feels like I’ve done the impossible. In the last two years I’ve almost never taken a victory against ShaSha (Sun Yingsha). Her technique is at its best she’s become such a mature player she’s at her prime. Perhaps I had a better mentality today. This is how things are on the Olympic stage. There are so many possibilities. You have to be bold to dream and don’t give up when there are challenges. Whether in life or on the court there will always be a way to find a breakthrough.” In the bronze medal match Hina HAYATA of Japan earned her place on the podium by defeating Korea Republic’s SHIN Yubin 4-2 (9-11 13-11 12-10 11-7 10-12 11-7). This marks the second consecutive Olympic Games with a Japanese player on the women’s singles podium following Mima ITO’S bronze medal in Tokyo 2020. “This bronze medal feels more valuable than gold because of the struggle and effort behind it. Since yesterday I haven’t been able to practise properly and my left hand has been almost unusable. I couldn’t even dry my hair or take a bath by myself. Many people helped me providing care until 4am. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who supported me. Although I’m disappointed with not making it to the final winning the bronze in these circumstances feels like a greater achievement than a gold medal.”

For the first time since 2000 when Jan-Ove WALDNER won silver and 32 years after his gold medal Sweden will have a player in the final of the Olympic men’s singles tournament. In Paris 2024 Truls MÖREGÅRDH secured a place in the final marking the first time a non-Chinese player has done so since South Korea’s RYU Seung-Min in Athens 2004. Truls defeated Brazil’s Hugo CALDERANO 4-2 (12-10 16-14 7-11 11-7 10-12 11-8). The Swede will face FAN Zhendong in the final a re-run of the 2021 World Championships final. CALDERANO will play for the bronze medal against Felix LEBRUN. “It’s completely crazy. I am so proud. I have never cried this much ” said MÖREGÅRDH. Ranked 26th in the world MÖREGÅRDH overcame the toughest possible start against the Brazilian world number six. Hugo CALDERANO 28 began brilliantly and MÖREGÅRDH 22 was down 4-10 in the first game. He then saved six straight games points and won it 12-10. Despite the referee’s comments on the Swede’s serve he maintained his focus and won the second game 16-14 after saving three game points. In the end it was a 4-2 victory. It is the first final in 24 years for Sweden. MÖREGÅRDH had a hard time processing what he had just accomplished after the match point. “This is the craziest thing that has happened in a long time ” he said. Next up is the Chinese World number two FAN Zhendong who defeated Félix LEBRUN in this morning’s semifinal with a 4-0 set victory. “I will be proud no matter how it goes ” added MÖREGÅRDH. FAN Zhendong shattered French dreams of a gold medal defeating home favorite Felix LEBRUN 4-0 (11-8 11-6 11-7 11-4) to secure his place in the gold medal match. The Chinese star determined to rectify his Tokyo 2020 silver medal finish delivered a dominant performance to silence the passionate French crowd.

Felix LEBRUN is in to the semifinal of  the Olympic tournament. French 17 years old star will contest the medal rounds after surviving a full-distance thriller against LIN Yun-Ju (11-7 7-11 11-8 4-11 11-8 8-11 11-6). Just one point separated the duo overall with the scorecard clocking in at 63:62 in favour of French representative. LEBRUN will now wait to see whether he will face FAN Zhendong or Tomokazu HARIMOTO in the semifinal. Truls MOREGARD beat Egypt’s Omar ASSAR in five games (11-7 6-11 14-12 14-12 11-2). Sweden’s rich Olympic legacy lives on with MOREGARD becoming their fourth-ever semifinalist. In the semi final Truls will meet Hugo CALDERANO of Brazil who became the first player outside Europe and Asia to reach an Olympic singles semifinal. In other semis Felix LEBRUN will play against FAN Zhendong. In women’s event Korea’s SHIN Yubin will play against China’s CHEN Meng and China’s SUN Yingsha will meet Japan’s Hina HAYATA.

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.