- 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
It was meant to be the moment of his dreams as the ping pong champion secured his first-ever Olympic gold medal.
But it quickly turned to tears for Chinese world number one Wang Chuqin after an over-excited photographer ruined celebrations by destroying his prized paddle… a day before his singles competition.
And despite pulling out his 11th hour back up paddle in hopes of success, Wang was met with further disappointment yesterday after being eliminated from the men’s singles round of 32, in an unthinkable defeat to 26th-ranked Truls Moregard from Sweden.
World number one table tennis player Wang Chuqin was devastated to find his paddle had been destroyed
He had left the paddle by the side to take a photo with his teammate and their national flag when a photographer broke the prized possession
Still holding the flag, Wang’s frustration is clear as his face turns from one of victory to one of disbelief
His coach tries to console him as Wang questions what had happened
A video also captured the ping pong star being barged into by another photographer
The Chinese ping pong star was able to celebrate a brief moment of success on Tuesday after he won the mixed doubles competition alongside teammate Sun Yingsha.
But the tragedy began when he placed his bat to the side to raise the Chinese flag.
As photographers rushed to capture a shot of the Olympic winners holding their flag, one clumsy snapper broke Wang’s special paddle, and upon discovering it Wang was unable to control his frustration.
He was left looking visibly upset after his victory was soured within a matter of seconds.
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.’
Adding salt to the wound, a video also shows a photographer barging into Wang after the match as he stands in disbelief.
He later admitted to ‘losing control of his emotions’, and yesterday, following his loss to Moregard, insisted his defeat was not due to the paddle incident.
It was only the second time Moregard has beaten a Chinese opponent in international competition.
Wang later admitted that he had lost control of his emotions
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.
