By Krystal Hu
PARIS (Reuters) -China successfully defended their Olympic men’s team title after beating Sweden in three nail-biting matches on Friday as Ma Long cemented his status as one of his country’s athletes.
Ma, already the most successful Olympic table tennis player, became the most decorated Olympian in China’s history with six gold medals.
Although Chinese overcame Sweden 3-0, each match was a five-game thriller as the seventh-seeded Swedes pushed them all the way.
Both Sweden and France celebrated their ever medals in the table tennis team event, also marking the first time two European nations have stood on the podium.
In a repeat of the men’s singles final, Sweden’s Truls Moregard put up a strong fight against gold medallist Fan Zhendong.
Moregard, who lost 4-1 to Fan in the singles, played a smarter game with wide angles and handled Fan’s powerful backhand better, winning the second and fourth sets.
Fan dominated the crucial points, however, and he took the deciding game 11-5.
Earlier, French teenager Felix Lebrun, who made history by winning the first bronze in table tennis singles for France since 2000, added another bronze to the host nation’s delight.
“An Olympic medal is the dream of every table tennis player, and to be able to do this in France, with our family watching us, with this team, it’s a moment we want to make last as long as possible,” said Lebrun, who plans to celebrate even though he is too young to consume alcohol in France.
Lebrun clinched two wins to help the French beat Japan, the Tokyo bronze medallists, along with his older brother Alexis and Simon Gauzy who lit up the South Paris Arena packed with enthusiastic home fans in an extended battle lasting over three hours,
(Reporting by Krystal Hu in Paris, editing by Ed Osmond)
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