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Singles, Men

Date24 – 30 July 2021
StatusOlympic
LocationTōkyō Taiikukan, Shibuya, Tokyo
Participants64 from 43 countries
FormatSingle-elimination tournament. Top 16 seeds advanced to round three. Seeds 17-32 advanced to round two.

For the singles, each nation was allowed to register two athletes from the respective team competition. An additional 22 qualified through continental qualifying tournaments. There was also the possibility of qualifying in an international qualification tournament. Also, the best placed athlete in the ITTF world rankings who had not yet qualified received a quota place.

Like in Rio, the first rounds were limited to the lower ranked players. Higher ranked players were gradually introduced until the third round when the world’s 16 best ranked players joined the tournament. This scheme had already been applied in previous Olympics. All matches were played to the best-of seven, with the first to win four games taking the match.

China occupied the top three spots in the world ranking list but could only nominate two players who turned out to be top seed Fan Zhendong and third seed Ma Long. Ma Long had taken two team golds previously, and in Rio also won singles gold. Additionally, he won three singles and two doubles titles at World Championships. In 2010, he topped the world ranking list for the first time. Nearly nine years younger than Long, Fan Zhendong had never won the world singles title, but was once the doubles and three times the world team champion. Both Chinese players had to fight hard in their semi-finals going through seven games taking more than 80 minutes. Former world No. 1 Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the same age as Ma Long, never managed to beat the Chinese in 19 matches throughout their careers and maybe he never came closer to winning than in Tokyo before eventually losing the deciding last game by 11-9. In the second semi-final, the tournament fifth seed Lin Yun-Ju from Chinese Taipei was equally close to outplaying Fan Zhendong. In the final Ma Long had less difficulty to beat his compatriot 4-2. Ovtcharov of Germany, something like a specialist for long matches, trailed Lin Yun-Ju in the bronze medal match 3-2 but came back in a grueling sixth game saving four match points and eventually took bronze by winning the deciding seventh game. Like the final, the veteran, 32-years-old Ovtcharov, prevailed against one of the sport’s next generation, 19-years-old Lin.

PosCompetitorNOC
1Ma LongCHNGold
2Fan ZhendongCHNSilver
3Dimitrij OvtcharovGERBronze
4Lin Yun-JuTPE
=5Omar AssarEGY
=5Hugo CalderanoBRA
=5Jeong Yeong-SikKOR
=5Darko JorgićSLO
=9Timo BollGER
=9Chuang Chih-YuanTPE
=9Marcos FreitasPOR
=9Simon GauzyFRA
=9Tomokazu HarimotoJPN
=9Jang Wu-JinKOR
=9Koki NiwaJPN
=9Gustavo TsuboiBRA
=17Sharath Kamal AchantaIND
=17Quadri ArunaNGR
=17Paul DrinkhallGBR
=17Mattias FalckSWE
=17Kirill GerasimenkoKAZ
=17Panagiotis GkionisGRE
=17Jonathan GrothDEN
=17Daniel HabesohnAUT
=17Anton KällbergSWE
=17Lam Siu HangHKG
=17Emmanuel LebessonFRA
=17Liam PitchfordGBR
=17Kirill SkachkovROC
=17Bojan TokičSLO
=17Jang WangSVK
=17Wong Chun TingHKG
=33Tiago ApolóniaPOR
=33Clarence ChewSGP
=33Horacio CifuentesARG
=33Andrej GaćinaCRO
=33Robert GardosAUT
=33Sathiyan GnanasekaranIND
=33Ovidiu IonescuROU
=33Lubomír JančaříkCZE
=33Kanak JhaUSA
=33Kou LeiUKR
=33Nikhil KumarUSA
=33Bence MajorosHUN
=33David PowellAUS
=33Tomislav PucarCRO
=33Álvaro RoblesESP
=33Ahmed Ali SalehEGY
=49Brian AfanadorPUR
=49Nima AlamianIRI
=49Ali Al-KhadrawiKSA
=49Gastón AltoARG
=49Larbi BouriahALG
=49Ibrahima DiawSEN
=49Dodji FannyTOG
=49Jeremy HazinCAN
=49Adem HmamTUN
=49Dimitrije LevajacSRB
=49Alberto MiñoECU
=49Olajide OmotayoNGR
=49Žolt PetoSRB
=49Yoshua ShingVAN
=49Chris YanAUS
64Enkhbat LkhagvasürenMGL
DNSPavel ŠiručekCZE

Preliminary Round

Date24 July 2021 — 10:30
FormatWinner of each match advanced to round one.
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match #124 Jul 10:30Table 1Nikhil KumarUSA11-2, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8Enkhbat LkhagvasürenMGL

Round One

Date24 July 2021
FormatWinner of each match advanced to round two.
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match #124 Jul 14:15Table 3Andrej GaćinaCRO11-5, 11-6, 11-3, 13-11Dodji FannyTOG
Match #224 Jul 14:15Table 2Clarence ChewSGP11-4, 4-11, 11-3, 13-11, 3-11, 12-10Ibrahima DiawSEN
Match #324 Jul 15:00Table 1Panagiotis GkionisGRE11-6, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8Žolt PetoSRB
Match #424 Jul 15:00Table 4Lubomír JančaříkCZE11-9, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4Ali Al-KhadrawiKSA
Match #524 Jul 21:00Table 1Nikhil KumarUSA8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6Alberto MiñoECU
Match #624 Jul 15:45Table 4Ovidiu IonescuROU11-7, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6Chris YanAUS
Match #724 Jul 20:15Table 1Álvaro RoblesESP8-11, 11-4, 14-12, 11-2, 11-7Gastón AltoARG
Match #824 Jul 16:30Table 1Lam Siu HangHKG7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4, 12-14, 11-8Brian AfanadorPUR
Match #924 Jul 15:45Table 2Bojan TokičSLO11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7Jeremy HazinCAN
Match #1024 Jul 16:30Table 4Paul DrinkhallGBR11-7, 11-1, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10Nima AlamianIRI
Match #1124 Jul 21:00Table 3David PowellAUS4 – 0Pavel ŠiručekCZEwalkover
Match #1224 Jul 20:15Table 4Kirill SkachkovROC11-4, 11-13, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8Dimitrije LevajacSRB
Match #1324 Jul 19:30Table 3Kou LeiUKR11-6, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6Adem HmamTUN
Match #1424 Jul 19:30Table 4Horacio CifuentesARG11-2, 11-5, 12-10, 11-6Yoshua ShingVAN
Match #1524 Jul 21:45Table 4Bence MajorosHUN11-1, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2Larbi BouriahALG
Match #1624 Jul 21:45Table 1Tiago ApolóniaPOR11-7, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5Olajide OmotayoNGR

Round Two

Date25 – 26 July 2021
FormatWinner of each match advanced to round three.
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match #125 Jul 14:00Table 4Emmanuel Lebesson (22)FRA11-6, 11-8, 12-10, 13-11Andrej GaćinaCRO
Match #225 Jul 14:45Table 2Daniel Habesohn (31)AUT11-7, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10Clarence ChewSGP
Match #325 Jul 14:45Table 3Panagiotis Gkionis (18)GRE13-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6Ahmed Ali SalehEGY
Match #425 Jul 15:30Table 1Kirill Gerasimenko (27)KAZ3-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 2-11, 11-9, 11-4Lubomír JančaříkCZE
Match #525 Jul 17:00Table 4Anton KällbergSWE11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5Nikhil Kumar (31)USA
Match #625 Jul 16:15Table 3Gustavo Tsuboi (28)BRA11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-9Ovidiu IonescuROU
Match #725 Jul 17:00Table 3Darko JorgićSLO11-2, 12-10, 5-11, 9-11, 5-11, 15-13, 11-8Álvaro Robles (24)ESP
Match #825 Jul 14:00Table 1Lam Siu Hang (19)HKG11-7, 7-11, 4-11, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6Sathiyan GnanasekaranIND
Match #926 Jul 11:00Table 3Bojan Tokič (21)SLO11-9, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10Tomislav PucarCRO
Match #1025 Jul 16:15Table 2Paul DrinkhallGBR13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-6Robert Gardos (30)AUT
Match #1126 Jul 11:00Table 2Jang WangSVK11-4, 11-4, 11-3, 11-3David Powell (26)AUS
Match #1226 Jul 10:00Table 4Kirill Skachkov (20)ROC11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 0-11, 11-7, 11-4Kanak JhaUSA
Match #1326 Jul 12:00Table 2Omar AssarEGY15-13, 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4Kou Lei (29)UKR
Match #1426 Jul 15:30Table 2Chuang Chih-Yuan (17)TPE5-11, 11-3, 13-11, 9-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7Horacio CifuentesARG
Match #1526 Jul 12:00Table 1Jonathan GrothDEN12-10, 12-10, 11-4, 3-11, 12-10Bence Majoros (23)HUN
Match #1626 Jul 10:00Table 1Sharath Kamal Achanta (25)IND2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9Tiago ApolóniaPOR

Round Three

Date26 – 27 July 2021
FormatWinner of each match advanced to round four.
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match #127 Jul 11:00Table 3Fan Zhendong (1)CHN11-3, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4Emmanuel Lebesson (22)FRA
Match #226 Jul 15:30Table 4Marcos Freitas (9)POR11-7, 3-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-13, 2-11, 11-3Daniel Habesohn (31)AUT
Match #327 Jul 10:00Table 1Jeong Yeong-Sik (10)KOR7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-6, 14-12Panagiotis Gkionis (18)GRE
Match #426 Jul 14:30Table 1Timo Boll (27)GER7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-2, 11-1Kirill Gerasimenko (5)KAZ
Match #527 Jul 10:00Table 2Lin Yun-Ju (8)TPE11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9Anton KällbergSWE
Match #627 Jul 11:00Table 4Gustavo Tsuboi (28)BRA13-15, 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6Quadri Aruna (13)NGR
Match #726 Jul 15:30Table 3Darko JorgićSLO11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10Liam Pitchford (11)GBR
Match #826 Jul 16:30Table 3Tomokazu Harimoto (4)JPN11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10Lam Siu Hang (19)HKG
Match #927 Jul 12:00Table 4Hugo Calderano (3)BRA13-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10Bojan Tokič (21)SLO
Match #1026 Jul 14:30Table 4Jang Wu-JinKOR7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7Paul Drinkhall (14)GBR
Match #1127 Jul 15:30Table 2Koki NiwaJPN11-6, 11-8, 11-3, 12-10Jang Wang (15)SVK
Match #1227 Jul 14:30Table 2Dimitrij Ovtcharov (7)GER13-11, 11-3, 13-11, 11-4Kirill Skachkov (20)ROC
Match #1327 Jul 15:30Table 3Omar Assar (6)EGY11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 13-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8Mattias FalckSWE
Match #1426 Jul 15:30Table 1Chuang Chih-Yuan (17)TPE9-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-2, 11-8Wong Chun Ting (16)HKG
Match #1527 Jul 14:30Table 1Simon GauzyFRA12-10, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5Jonathan Groth (12)DEN
Match #1627 Jul 12:00Table 1Ma Long (2)CHN11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-4Sharath Kamal Achanta (25)IND

Round Four

Date27 July 2021 — 16:30
FormatWinner of each match advanced to quarter-finals.
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match #127 Jul 19:30Table 1Fan Zhendong (1)CHN11-6, 11-6, 11-2, 5-11, 11-3Marcos Freitas (9)POR
Match #227 Jul 16:30Table 1Jeong Yeong-Sik (27)KOR11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4Timo Boll (10)GER
Match #327 Jul 16:30Table 4Lin Yun-Ju (8)TPE11-5, 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 9-11, 13-11Gustavo Tsuboi (28)BRA
Match #427 Jul 19:30Table 2Darko Jorgić (4)SLO10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7Tomokazu HarimotoJPN
Match #527 Jul 20:30Table 4Hugo Calderano (3)BRA11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6Jang Wu-JinKOR
Match #627 Jul 21:30Table 2Dimitrij Ovtcharov (7)GER11-4, 7-11, 11-0, 11-7, 11-9Koki NiwaJPN
Match #727 Jul 21:30Table 1Omar Assar (17)EGY11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7Chuang Chih-Yuan (6)TPE
Match #827 Jul 20:30Table 1Ma Long (2)CHN11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-5Simon GauzyFRA

Quarter-Finals

Date28 July 2021 — 11:00
FormatWinner of each match advanced to semi-finals.
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match #128 Jul 11:00Table 1Fan Zhendong (1)CHN12-10, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5Jeong Yeong-Sik (27)KOR
Match #228 Jul 16:00Table 1Lin Yun-Ju (4)TPE11-4, 11-7, 11-4, 11-6Darko Jorgić (8)SLO
Match #328 Jul 21:00Table 1Dimitrij Ovtcharov (7)GER7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-2Hugo Calderano (3)BRA
Match #428 Jul 20:00Table 1Ma Long (2)CHN11-7, 11-9, 11-6, 11-13, 11-6Omar Assar (17)EGY

Semi-Finals

Date29 July 2021 — 15:00
FormatWinner of each match advanced to final.
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match #129 Jul 15:00Table 1Fan Zhendong (1)CHN6-11, 11-9, 14-12, 13-15, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8Lin Yun-Ju (4)TPE
Match #229 Jul 16:00Table 1Ma Long (2)CHN13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9Dimitrij Ovtcharov (7)GER

Final Round

Date30 July 2021 — 20:00
MatchDate/TimeLocationCompetitor (Seed)NOCResultCompetitor (Seed)NOC
Match 1/230 Jul 21:00Table 1Ma Long (1)CHN11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7Fan Zhendong (2)CHN
Match 3/430 Jul 20:00Table 1Dimitrij Ovtcharov (4)GER13-11, 5-11, 6-11, 11-4, 4-11, 15-13, 11-7Lin Yun-Ju (7)TPE