China's Fan Zhendong beats Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-1 to win the table tennis men's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games on Sunday. [Photo by Wei Xiaohao / China Daily]

"Each and every team has its own prime era, and the Swedish program was definitely one of our biggest rivals," said 27-year-old Fan, who has bagged a total nine world championships gold medals in singles, doubles and team since his debut in 2014.

"Now with strong and young competitors like Moregard emerging, I believe the rivalry will continue, and we need to push ourselves to stay ahead."

After beating Moregard 4-1 with relative ease, Fan performed for the roaring crowd in Paris, tucking both hands beneath his armpits to emulate French soccer star Kylian Mbappe's signature goal celebration.

A die-hard fan of Spanish La Liga giant Real Madrid, Fan also impersonated former Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, performing the iconic "siu" celebration to celebrate his 4-0 semifinal win against local favorite Felix Lebrun — a fun gesture that has won over fans in Europe.