Racket Insight is your go-to guide for the Olympic table tennis event, with an extensive Olympic Hub covering everything you could possibly need to know.
Our coverage wouldn’t be complete without keeping you up-to-date on the latest results and progress throughout the knockout stages of the 5 gold medal events.
This page covers all of the matches being played in the main stages of each event, including some pre-event commentary about the draw and who it’s favorable for. We’ll tackle each event in chronological order of their gold medal match, starting with the Mixed Doubles.
Mixed Doubles
Gold Medal Match: 30th July
Full Mixed Doubles event guide.
With just 16 mixed doubles pairings qualified for the Olympics, and just one Chinese pairing, this is objectively the ‘easiest’ gold medal opportunity out of the 5 events. Just win 4 matches and you’ll be crowned Olympic champions.
Of course, it’s not so simple in practice. Here’s the draw:
Most teams would want to be on the opposite side of the draw to the Chinese pairing of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, albeit there is no such thing as an easy draw in this event. That points towards a strong showing from the Japanese pairing of Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata.
The Japanese team should comfortably make it into the Semi Finals, though could face one of the strong pairings from Hong Kong, Brazil, or Spain for a place in the Final.
Update: This prediction was incredibly wrong as the North Korean pairing of Ri Jong Sik / Kim Kum Yong dominated their opening match to beat the Japanese. A first-round loss is disappointing for the Gold medalists of 4 years ago. However, the DPRK pairing have become the major news stories from this Mixed Doubles competition, having a unique defensive/counter-attacking partnership. Teams are finding them difficult because there’s been little opportunity to learn about the two North Koreans before this Olympics as they rarely play international tournaments.
The best first-round match is happening on the top side of the draw, with the French and Taiwanese pairings both exceptionally strong (Update: The Taiwanese took this match, only to be overcome 4-2 by the Chinese). The prize for winning that match will be a chance to play against team China in the Quarter Finals. That’s about as tough as it can possibly get.
Women’s Singles
Gold Medal Match: 3rd August
Full Women’s Singles event guide.
The tough part of the Singles events is the straight knockout factor. Forget warming up into a group stage where you could afford to lose a match, this is pure knockout theatre where you can’t afford to put a foot wrong.
Giulia Takahashi (BRA) and Lynda Laghraibi (ALG) have drawn the short straws here, each facing one of the incredibly strong Chinese entrants. There’s an exceptionally high chance of Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng meeting each other in the final, and they won’t be in any mood to put that at risk.
The top half of the draw is probably slightly easier, although there are still some great first-round matchups. Christina Kallberg (SWE) vs Sreeja Akula (IND) is probably the highest in quality, and will definitely be worth watching. I think Hina Hayata has been fortunate with a very favorable draw to reach a semi-final matchup against Sun Yingsha.
In the bottom half, we start with an incredibly tough assignment for Australia’s WR #250 Melissa Tapper. Shin Yubin is an exceptionally strong competitor, so expect to see the Korean move through the first few rounds relatively comfortably.
Team GB’s 18-year old Anna Hursey also faces an extremely tough draw against the pimpled bat of Manika Batra (IND). Manika Batra is one of my dark horses for a medal, so it would be an incredible achievement for Anna to reach the Round of 32.
Lastly, keep an eye out for Monaco’s Xiaoxin Yang. No athlete from Monaco has ever won an Olympic medal, and Yang has a couple of winnable matches before coming up against China’s Chen Meng.
Men’s Singles
Gold Medal Match: 4th August
Full Men’s Singles event guide.
Whilst the two Chinese women’s entrants have very few question marks over their dominance, the same can’t be said on the men’s side. Yes, Wang Chuqin is the World #1, in imperious form, and the odds-on favourite. However, his compatriot Fan Zhendong has been showing weakness over the last 12 months that makes him feel beatable.
Can any of the men take advantage and earn themselves an Olympic Silver (or better, Gold?).
If we look at the draw through the lens that Fan Zhendong is beatable, it opens up opportunity for a few strong competitors on the lower side of the draw. Wong Chun Ting (HGK) could produce a seismic upset in the 2nd round, with the task only getting harder for Fan Zhendong from there.
The draw is very favorable for home favorite Felix Lebrun, who’s first serious test might come in the Round of 16 against Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov although he isn’t the same force as he was 4 years ago when he claimed bronze in this event. He beat Lin Yun-ju in that bronze medal match, with a rematch possible in the quarter finals this time around.
If anyone can produce a shock in the top half of the draw, it would be Jang Woojin (KOR) who’s first major test will come a few rounds in when he’s on a collision course with Japan’s exceptional talent Shunsuke Togami.
Men’s Team
Gold Medal Match: 9th August
Full Men’s Team event guide.
There’s probably a 98% chance that the Chinese team win this event. When you have the WR #1, #3, and #4 on your team, it’s a pretty straightforward competition. That’s without mentioning they selected a team without WR #2 Liang Jingkun.
The intrigue will be who can pick up the Silver and Bronze medals. Japan kickstart their tournament with a straightforward match against a weak Australian team before a likely fiery match-up against Chinese Taipei’s talented trio. Whoever wins that match is likely to take that coveted Silver medal.
Germany are the seeded team on the bottom quarter of the draw but are no longer the force of old. Dang Qiu is inconsistent, Dimitrij Ovtcharov is on a run of poor form, and the retiring Timo Boll is attending for a farewell tour. I prefer Sweden to scrape past Denmark and Germany to make the Semi-Finals, although that’s likely a contrarian opinion.
France have a very talented Men’s team featuring brothers Alexis and Felix Lebrun but they need to fight through a very tough draw to win a medal. A likely route of Slovenia, Brazil, then China, means their best hope is fighting their way into the Bronze medal match.
Women’s Team
Gold Medal Match: 9th August
Full Women’s Team event guide.
I can’t think of any other Olympic Gold medal that is so nailed on to any country. There’s every chance the Chinese women’s team win the entire tournament without dropping a game, never mind a match.
Out of curiosity, I checked the odds of a Chinese victory and they’re at 1.05 (-2000). That’s about accurate.
The two other teams to watch out for would be Japan and India, both of whom are in the bottom side of the draw. Expect them to meet each other in the Semi-Final as long as Germany can’t pull a shock result against an awkward and experienced Indian trio.
Chinese Taipei will be frustrated with a draw that sees them play against China in the Quarter Finals, likely ending their chances of a medal before the tournament even begins.
This is an event to sit and admire the strength of China’s team. If you’re looking out for an upset, watch the Mixed Doubles or Men’s Singles events instead.
David’s been playing Table Tennis since he was 12, earning his first coaching license in 2012. He’s played in national team & individual competitions, although he prefers the more relaxed nature of a local league match! After earning his umpiring qualification in England, David moved to Australia and started Racket Insight to share information about the sport he loves.
Blade: Stiga WRB Offensive Classic | Forehand: Calibra LT | Backhand: Xiom Musa
Playstyle: The All-Rounder
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