China’s table tennis world number one Wang Chuqin suffered a shock defeat in the men’s Olympic singles on Wednesday, a day after having his bat broken.
Wang won mixed doubles gold on Tuesday in Paris but his elation quickly turned to anger after a photographer accidentally snapped his bat while jostling to take a picture.
Less than 24 hours later, Wang went out in the round of 32 of the singles after a 4-2 defeat to Truls Moregard of Sweden.
The 26th-ranked Moregard sank to the floor in disbelief and put his hands on his head, before doing a tour of the crowd, who rose in appreciation after roaring on the underdog throughout.
It capped a mixed couple of days for Wang, 24.
With his playing partner Sun Yingsha they beat North Korea in the mixed doubles final, but Wang admitted he “lost control of my emotions a little” after his bat was broken.
A familiar bat and its grip can be of vital importance to table tennis players.
Wang though refused to blame his replacement bat for his stunning defeat to the unheralded Moregard, 22.
“It didn’t really have an influence on the match,” he told AFP.
“It was just that my opponent played really, really well.”
Wang will next compete in the men’s team event.
The triumphant Moregard said he “had a feeling I could beat him today”, having never done so before in eight previous attempts.
“I’ve almost never taken a set against Wang so it’s crazy to win here at the Olympics,” the Swede, into the last 16 for the first time, told AFP.
Moregard, who is coached by his older brother Malte, said Wang was not at his best – but said it had nothing to do with the Chinese player’s bat.
“I think you have 10 rackets at least and 500 rubbers here, so it doesn’t matter if you lose your bat. I mean, I don’t know which one is my first or third, so it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Wang may have lost but China are the undoubted superpower of table tennis and came to the French capital having won 32 of the 37 available golds since it became an Olympic sport.