Chinaâs table tennis world number one Wang Chuqin suffered a shock defeat in the menâs Olympic singles on Wednesday, a day after having his bat broken.
Wang won mixed doubles gold on Tuesday in Paris but his elation quickly turned to anger after a photographer accidentally snapped his bat while jostling to take a picture.
Wang is now out in the round of 32 of the singles after a 4-2 defeat to 26th-ranked Truls Moregard of Sweden.
Moregard, 22, sank to his knees in disbelief before doing a tour of the crowd, who rose in appreciation.
READ | China mixed doubles gold medallist Wang Chuqinâs joy cut short by paparazzi paddle accident
It capped a mixed couple of days for Wang, 24.
With his playing partner Sun Yingsha they beat North Korea in the mixed doubles final on Tuesday, but Wang admitted he âlost control of my emotions a littleâ after his bat was broken.
âI couldnât understand why the photographers would do that,â he said in the aftermath.
âI guess they didnât mean it. I canât do anything now that itâs already happened.
âI believe Iâll still be able to play well with my back-up bat.â
Wang will next compete in the menâs team event.
The incident happened when Wang briefly put his paddle aside to raise the Chinese flag in celebration, reporters at the scene said.
Source Agencies
