- World No 1 Wang Chuqin had his paddle broken by a photographer
- Incident occurred while he was celebrating his gold in the doubles
- Then the unthinkable happened for the table tennis superstar
A Chinese table tennis superstar was left visibly upset after seeing his prized possession broken by an over-excited photographer in Paris.
Wang Chuqin was celebrating his first Olympic Games gold medal alongside teammate Sun Yingsha after winning the mixed doubles competition on Tuesday.
But his joy soon turned to disbelief when he realised that his paddle – so important for the team and individual events – destroyed by the snapper.
Emotionally overcome by the incident, Wang sought an explanation as his coach hugged and consoled him in an effort to remain calm.
‘They didn’t do it on purpose. Since it already happened, there is nothing much I can do about it. I will try to play well with my backup paddle,’ a distraught Wang said. ‘Maybe this is fate.’
Wang then returned for the men’s singles competition on Wednesday, but the world No 1 suffered an unthinkable defeat by Sweden’s Truls Moregard, knocking him out of the competition at the round of 32 stage.
It was only the second time Moregard has beaten a Chinese opponent in international competition.
However, Wang insisted his defeat was not due to the paddle incident.
Wang Chuqin was left devastated after his table tennis paddle was broken
The world No 1’s paddle was broken by photographers while he celebrated his gold medal
The devastated Chinese star then lost his singles match to Sweden’s Truls Moregard
‘I think the main reason was my own poor performance, which gave Moregard more opportunities. I made a lot of mistakes, which gradually put me in a disadvantageous position,’ said Wang.
His journey in Paris is not over, though, as he is due to compete in the team event for China later on.
Moregard was delighted with his shock victory and was seen shouting to the crowd and dancing on the floor.
‘I have almost never taken a set against Wang, so it’s crazy to win here. I think how I played in the tactical game was really clever, and I didn’t feel that he had his best day at the beginning,’ said Moregard.
