“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.
