A year ago Chen Meng today etched her name in Olympic immortality. In an exciting ladies singles final that had everything-momentum fluctuations, breathtaking rallies and championships-won the defending champion World No. 1 Sun Yingsha with 4-2 to only become the third player in Table History to win back-to-back Olympic Singles Gold Medals.
With her 4-2 victory (4-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6) Chen Meng joined an exclusive club that was previously only occupied by Chinese legends Deng Yaping (1992, 1996) and Zhang Yining (2004, 2008). The achievement was all the more remarkable given that she met the best player in the world in Sun Yingsha, who had dominated the sport in recent years.
The competition was a master class in the Olympic Final Tennis-A Sties Fight that showed the very best of the table tennis for ladies. After the dominant 11-4 opening match of Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng showed exactly why she considered one of the greatest champions of the sport, who moistened with matches of 11-7 and 11-4 to grab control.
When Sun Yingsha leveled the match at 2-2 with a 11-9 fourth match victory, the Arena held his breath. This was the moment that the inheritances would define – could the world number 1 finally conquer its elusive Olympic singles – gold, or could the experience of the title defender be decisive?
The reaction of Chen Meng was emphatically. The fifth competition, won 11-9, demonstrated the championship mentality. Under the ultimate pressure, with the weight of defending her title and Sun Yingsha’s ruthless pursuit, Chen Meng found a different level.
The sixth and final game was a coronation. A 11-6 victory that didn’t just seal an Olympic gold medal, but a place under the great ones of all time.
Hayata’s bronze medal breakthrough
Earlier in the day, the Japanese Hina Hayata had protected the bronze medal with a heavily fought 4-2 victory over Shin Yubin of Korea Republic. The competition showed the tactical intelligence and resilience of Hayata, while recovering from losing the opening match to win four of the next five.
Hayata’s bronze marked Japan’s second consecutive Olympic Ladies Singles medal, after Mima Ito’s Bronze in Tokyo 2020. For the Japanese star that made her Olympic debut, it was the perfect way to announce herself in the largest stage of sport.
Shin Yubin could, despite the defeat, reflect on a remarkable Olympic campaign that included mixed double bronze and its historic run to the semi -final of the singles – the first Korean player to achieve this performance since 2004.
A final for the centuries
The final of the ladies singles was a repeat of the Tokyo 2020 showdown, but the story was shifted. Sun Yingsha arrived as the world no. 1 and reigning world champion, already an Olympic champion in mixed Doubles, looking for her collection with singles gold.
Despite the defeat, the performance of Sun Yingsha in the final was downright exceptional. Her demolition of the opening game of Chen Meng on 11-4 showed exactly why she has dominated the sport in recent years. When she moaned back to deliver the match at 2-2, it seemed that her moment had finally arrived.
Her journey to the final included dominant performances that everyone reminded why she is considered one of the greatest talents that the sport has ever seen. Although the Olympic singles continues to escape her, Sun Yingsha’s time at the top of the sport is by no means over.
Chen Meng, ranked in the world in fourth place, entered the experienced campaigner with a strong head-to-head record against her younger countryman. Their rivalry had defined the table tennis for women in recent years, and this final was the highlight of that compelling story.
Looking back a year later, the victory of Chen Meng is a masterpiece of the Olympic competition. In an era in which Sun Yingsha had settled as the dominant power in the table tennis of women, Chen Meng proved that experience, mental strength and championship stem can overcome even the most formidable opposition.
For Sun Yingsha, the gold medal continues to escape her in singles, but her time will certainly come. For Chen Meng, 10 August 2024, the day she became a member of table tennis Royalty-a back-to-back Olympic champion whose inheritance will inspire generations of players who are still coming.
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