China’s Wang Manyu and Chen Meng faced off against Hina Hayata and Miwa Harimoto of Japan in a thrilling five-game showdown in the women’s team table tennis final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The match was a rollercoaster of momentum swings, with the Chinese pair staging a remarkable comeback from a 5-9 deficit in the fifth game to secure a hard-fought 3-2 victory, giving China an early 1-0 lead in the team event.
The team event format includes singles and doubles matches, with the competition continuing until one team reaches three match wins. Sun Yingsha extended China’s lead by defeating Miu Hirano 3-0, although the scoreline did not fully capture the intensity of the contest.
As the competition progressed, Wang and Harimoto found themselves facing each other once again, this time in the singles match. Harimoto knew that a win was crucial to keep Japan's hopes alive in the gold medal match, while Wang had the opportunity to secure the defense of the title she helped win in Tokyo.
The singles match proved to be another nail-biter, with Wang taking a 2-1 lead after three closely contested games. China is aiming to achieve a clean sweep of table tennis medals at Paris 2024, having already claimed four gold medals and a silver. The Chinese team is receiving enthusiastic support from the home crowd, adding to the electric atmosphere of the competition.
