China’s Taylor-Swift-loving Olympic champion secures a career table tennis Grand Slam
Complete, ruthless, aggressive, and dominant — no single word quite describes China’s Olympic and world champion paddler Fan Zhendong when he unleashes his fierce precision. He simply leaves his opponent, and the world, in awe.
The “baby-faced assassin”, as he is known among his adoring fans for his cherubic features and deadly wrist, took the table tennis world by storm on Aug 4, as he romped to a 49-minute 4-1 win over Sweden’s Truls Moregard in the final of the men’s singles to claim the first Olympic gold medal of his career. It also means he has completed a prestigious “Grand Slam” by collecting titles at the world championships, World Cup, and, now, the Olympics.
It was eight years in the making, and countless challenges had to be overcome, not just from overseas opponents, but as many, if not more so from his world-class teammates, as he fought for supremacy in, arguably, the most intense “civil war” of any sport’s national program. It has forged Fan’s already steely will to the point of invincibility.
Fan’s win on Aug 4 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 fought many classic matches against each other throughout their playing careers.
“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 of 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 his iconic “siu” celebration to celebrate his 4-0 semifinal win against local favorite Felix Lebrun.
As aggressively competitive as he is at the table, Fan comes across as any average young man, following European soccer as his hobby, and enjoying the latest music trends, especially the catchy songs of pop megastar Taylor Swift.
By posting his appreciation for Swift’s music regularly on his social media account Weibo, where he has garnered over 3.2 million followers, Fan has captivated not only table tennis enthusiasts but also a legion of “Swifties”, the US artist’s devoted followers.
After Fan outplayed Lebrun to advance to the men’s singles final on Aug 2, social media users began superimposing Fan’s face on Taylor Swift posters and stickers to rally support for the table tennis standout.
Fan, a self-proclaimed Swiftie, has openly expressed his admiration for the iconic musician.
“Music is universal. Great musicians like Taylor bring us healing power and confidence,” he said.
However, social media can sometimes end up not being much fun for Fan.
He faced criticism in March after losing a World Table Tennis event to 18-year-old compatriot Lin Shidong just days after posting footage from Swift’s Singapore leg of her Eras tour on his Weibo account. He also called on fans to “boycott idol culture” after a theft from his Beijing hotel room.
“I am an athlete, cultivated by my country. It’s my duty to fight for the country and, for more than 10 years, I’ve never wavered from this duty,” Fan said.
“In my free time, I am just an ordinary young man. I have normal hobbies and I have my social network. I will continue to be true to my heart under the premise of following the law and the rules.”
