China's Ma wins unprecedented back-to-back Olympic singles titles

China's Ma Long celebrates after scoring during the men's singles final of the table tennis competition against his teammate Fan Zhendong, at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, July 30, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

TOKYO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Ma Long became the first male table tennis player to win back-back Olympic titles in singles competition after outclassing world No. 1 and teammate Fan Zhendong 4-2 in the final at the Tokyo Olympic Games here on Friday.

Ma won the duel 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7 in front of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

It's the third straight final contested between the Chinese duo in major events, after the ITTF World Cup and the ITTF Finals in November last year. They won apiece in the previous two clashes.

In an earlier match, Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov bagged home a bronze medal after beating Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei in a seven-set thriller. Enditem