China's table tennis star

Wang celebrated gold – then his racket was demolished

Wang's racket was still fine then.(Bild: AP/Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Incredible things happened in the table tennis arena in Versailles! China's top stars Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha had just won the expected mixed gold when the world number one's joy quickly turned to anger. A photographer had broken his racket!

China's coaches were only able to hold Wang back with great difficulty. He had stormed angrily towards the photographer, holding his racket up to the cameras in horror, which was clearly recognizable as having been snapped off at the handle, irreparably damaged. What had happened?

Even the 24-year-old could hardly find out in his haste. He was posing with his partner for winning photos with the Chinese flag when his coach pointed out the demolished racket. After the match, it was clear to see that it was still intact.

Wang Chuqin posed for photos with Sun Yingsha, and then he saw the final.(Bild: EPA)

The tournament, in which Wang Chuqin wants to win three gold medals, had started well for him in sporting terms. Although the surprise North Korean finalists Ri/Kim put up a good fight, the Chinese favorites ultimately secured the Olympic mixed title for the first time, which they had missed out on at the 2020 premiere in Tokyo.

"There's nothing I can do about it now"
With China's team anyway, but Wang is also the top favorite in the singles at these games. Anyone who knows how attached table tennis players are to their racket also knows that the destruction of his racket could be an obstacle. Wang himself, however, was at least slightly more relaxed: "I lost control of my emotions at first. I couldn't understand why the photographers would do something like that. I guess it was unintentional. There's nothing I can do about it now. I think I can play well with my replacement racket."