China's table tennis player Fan Zhendong concentrates during the men's singles final at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. [Photo by Wei Xiaohao / China Daily]

Fan's win on Sunday at the South Paris Arena — an almost "home court", packed by red-flag-waving Chinese fans — has redeemed the narrow defeat he suffered at the hands of his legendary teammate Ma Long in the singles final at Tokyo 2020, inspiring Fan to keep pushing to achieve a "double-slam" by 2028, as Ma did in 2021.

"It all came down to the hard work I put in every day. While there are athletes with innate talent, who can win easily anytime, anywhere, I hope to keep sharpening my craft and continue fighting for more glory, together with my team," Fan said at the post-final news conference.

Fan's final encounter with Moregard, who stunned China's world No 1 Wang Chuqin in the opening round, was the latest installment of a decades-long international rivalry between China and Sweden, underlined by the respective team coaches — China's three-time Olympian Wang Hao and Swedish legend Jorgen Persson, who have fought many classic matches against each other throughout their playing careers.