Chinese table tennis star knocked out of Olympics after bat broken in unusual circumstances

He had put his paddle down only momentarily so he could raise the flag aloft after realising his childhood dream to become Olympic table tennis champion.

However, in a moment of absurd misfortune, cheers over his doubles title turned to tears as China’s Wang Chuqin realised a photographer had trampled on the bat. Then, amid cries of sabotage from conspiracy theorists back home in China, Wang’s form deserted him the next day as he crashed out in the first round of the singles.

A video of the incident published by Chinese PhoenixTV News on social media prompted followers to attempt to piece together events, posting screengrabs which they suggested showed the incident may have been deliberate. Weibo, the Chinese microblogging site, was also abuzz with speculation that the bat may have been taken out of Wang’s kitbag in a targeted attack by a rival nation. Some social-media accounts, curiously with no followers or previous posts, pointed blame at one photographer in particular.

A disbelieving Wang had been close to tears on Tuesday after discovering his battered paddle, which appeared to have fallen off his kit bag and then been trodden on by an over-enthusiastic media pack.

He had immediately walked over to the pack of photographers to attempt to get an explanation before his coach intervened to console him and ask him to stay calm. “They didn’t do it on purpose,” Wang accepted later. “Since it already happened, there is nothing much I can do about it. I will try to play well with my back-up paddle. Maybe this is fate.”

But a first-round exit in the singles event to Sweden’s Truls Moregard duly followed amid some shock in the sport. Even then, Wang refused to blame the over-excited photographer who may have ruined his chances.

“I think the main reason was my own poor performance, which gave Moregard more opportunities,” he said. “I made a lot of mistakes, which gradually put me in a disadvantageous position.” Wang will have another chance to put the incident behind him in the team event for China.

For the 22-year-old Moregard, meanwhile, it was just a second-ever victory over a Chinese player in international competition. He celebrated ecstatically, 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.

The Swede won the first two games against world No 1 Wang, who then fought back to even the score. In the critical fifth game, Wang narrowed the gap from 4-8 to 8-8 but eventually lost 9-11.

China’s ambition to sweep all golds in table tennis now rests on the shoulders of the fourth-ranked Fan Zhendong, the only Chinese player left to defend his country’s title in the men’s singles event. Fan advanced to the next round by defeating Hong Kong’s Wong Chun-ting 4-1.

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