| Date | 23 September – 1 October 1988 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Che-yuk-gwan, Seo-ul Dae-hak-gyo, Seoul | |
| Participants | 64 from 35 countries | |
| Format | Round-robin qualifying pools, followed by single-elimination tournament. | |
The story of the 1988 men’s singles tournament was the demise of the top five seeds prior to the semi-finals. The favorite was the 1985 and 1987 World Champion, Jiang Jialiang (CHN), but he lost in the quarter-finals. Also defeated in that round were the #2 seed, Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE), and #3 seed, Chen Longcan (CHN). The final came down to two Korean players – Yoo Nam-Kyu and Kim Ki-Taik – which was quite popular with the home crowd. In the final, Yoo, the 1987 Asian Games champion, lost the first game, but then came back to win in four games. The fourth-place finisher, Tibor Klampár (HUN), had been doubles World Champion in 1971.
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiang Jialiang | CHN | 7 | 0 | 21-1 | 459-323 | ||
| 2 | Tibor Klampár | HUN | 6 | 1 | 19-8 | 543-445 | ||
| 3 | Alan Cooke | GBR | 5 | 2 | 16-7 | 462-372 | ||
| 4 | Jean-Michel Saive | BEL | 4 | 3 | 14-11 | 470-431 | ||
| 5 | Jean-Philippe Gatien | FRA | 3 | 4 | 14-13 | 512-484 | ||
| 6 | Sean O'Neill | USA | 2 | 5 | 6-16 | 332-424 | ||
| 7 | Carlos Kawai | BRA | 1 | 6 | 5-18 | 368-456 | ||
| 8 | Lotfi Joudi | TUN | 0 | 7 | 0-21 | 230-441 |
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan-Ove Waldner | SWE | 7 | 0 | 21-2 | 465-327 | ||
| 2 | Xu Zengcai | CHN | 6 | 1 | 20-3 | 460-290 | ||
| 3 | Georg Böhm | FRG | 5 | 2 | 15-8 | 446-369 | ||
| 4 | Patrick Birocheau | FRA | 3 | 4 | 11-14 | 422-436 | ||
| 5 | Chih Chin-Long | TPE | 3 | 4 | 11-12 | 407-417 | ||
| 6 | Tonny Maringgi | INA | 2 | 5 | 7-17 | 363-469 | ||
| 7 | Barry Griffiths | NZL | 2 | 5 | 9-18 | 452-522 | ||
| 8 | Gilany Hosnani | MRI | 0 | 7 | 1-21 | 271-456 |
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ding Yi | AUT | 7 | 0 | 21-3 | 476-336 | ||
| 2 | Chen Longcan | CHN | 6 | 1 | 19-6 | 495-366 | ||
| 3 | Lo Chuen Tsung | HKG | 5 | 2 | 19-7 | 500-382 | ||
| 4 | Wu Wen-Chia | TPE | 3 | 4 | 11-12 | 417-391 | ||
| 5 | Zsolt Harczi | HUN | 3 | 4 | 11-13 | 401-436 | ||
| 6 | Yomi Bankole | NGR | 3 | 4 | 10-15 | 390-448 | ||
| 7 | Abdul Wahab Ali | IRQ | 1 | 6 | 4-19 | 345-459 | ||
| 8 | Alain Choo Choy | MRI | 0 | 7 | 1-21 | 252-458 |
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrzej Grubba | POL | 7 | 0 | 21-1 | 460-310 | ||
| 2 | Zoran Primorac | YUG | 5 | 2 | 16-7 | 452-389 | ||
| 3 | Jörg Roßkopf | FRG | 5 | 2 | 16-11 | 514-462 | ||
| 4 | Yoshihito Miyazaki | JPN | 4 | 3 | 14-9 | 407-398 | ||
| 5 | Atanda Musa | NGR | 4 | 3 | 14-12 | 484-473 | ||
| 6 | Gary Haberl | AUS | 2 | 5 | 9-17 | 448-490 | ||
| 7 | Sujay Ghorpade | IND | 1 | 6 | 6-20 | 383-515 | ||
| 8 | Francisco López | VEN | 0 | 7 | 2-21 | 361-472 |
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kim Gi-Taek | KOR | 7 | 0 | 21-5 | 514-394 | ||
| 2 | Jörgen Persson | SWE | 6 | 1 | 20-7 | 516-384 | ||
| 3 | Kiyoshi Saito | JPN | 5 | 2 | 19-6 | 499-397 | ||
| 4 | Kamlesh Mehta | IND | 4 | 3 | 13-12 | 470-457 | ||
| 5 | Mariano Domuschiev | BUL | 3 | 4 | 10-15 | 425-473 | ||
| 6 | Piotr Molenda | POL | 2 | 5 | 8-17 | 405-474 | ||
| 7 | Jorge Gambra | CHI | 1 | 6 | 7-18 | 413-490 | ||
| 8 | Sherif El-Saket | EGY | 0 | 7 | 3-21 | 324-497 |
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Lindh | SWE | 7 | 0 | 21-7 | 558-414 | ||
| 2 | Desmond Douglas | GBR | 6 | 1 | 18-5 | 451-350 | ||
| 3 | Huang Huei-Chieh | TPE | 5 | 2 | 18-7 | 469-388 | ||
| 4 | Farjad Saif | PAK | 3 | 4 | 11-14 | 439-485 | ||
| 5 | Zoran Kalinić | YUG | 3 | 4 | 13-14 | 503-493 | ||
| 6 | Cláudio Kano | BRA | 2 | 5 | 10-16 | 452-488 | ||
| 7 | Ashraf Helmy | EGY | 2 | 5 | 7-17 | 381-475 | ||
| 8 | Raymundo Fermín | DOM | 0 | 7 | 3-21 | 331-491 |
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yu Nam-Gyu | KOR | 7 | 0 | 21-1 | 463-308 | ||
| 2 | Leszek Kucharski | POL | 6 | 1 | 18-8 | 504-445 | ||
| 3 | Jindřich Panský | TCH | 5 | 2 | 16-10 | 501-480 | ||
| 4 | Carl Prean | GBR | 4 | 3 | 15-11 | 508-445 | ||
| 5 | Vong Lu Veng | HKG | 3 | 4 | 11-16 | 496-524 | ||
| 6 | Joe Ng | CAN | 2 | 5 | 11-15 | 481-500 | ||
| 7 | Mario Álvarez | DOM | 1 | 6 | 7-18 | 404-487 | ||
| 8 | Mourad Sta | TUN | 0 | 7 | 1-21 | 289-457 |
| Date | 23 – 28 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner and runner-up in group advanced to single-elimination tournament. |
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Wins | Losses | Games | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilija Lupulesku | YUG | 7 | 0 | 21-4 | 514-388 | ||
| 2 | Seiji Ono | JPN | 5 | 2 | 18-11 | 557-515 | ||
| 3 | Liu Fuk Man | HKG | 5 | 2 | 17-9 | 495-411 | ||
| 4 | Kim Wan | KOR | 4 | 3 | 14-11 | 477-423 | ||
| 5 | Andrey Mazunov | URS | 4 | 3 | 17-11 | 542-401 | ||
| 6 | Massimo Costantini | ITA | 2 | 5 | 10-17 | 471-521 | ||
| 7 | Marcos Núñez | CHI | 1 | 6 | 3-19 | 331-435 | ||
| 8 | Garfield Jones | JAM | 0 | 7 | 3-21 | 293-486 |
| Date | 29 September 1988 — 9:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner of each match advanced to next round. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | Jiang Jialiang | CHN | 3 – 1 | Desmond Douglas | GBR | ||
| Match #2 | Erik Lindh | SWE | 3 – 0 | Seiji Ono | JPN | ||
| Match #3 | Yu Nam-Gyu | KOR | 3 – 0 | Zoran Primorac | YUG | ||
| Match #4 | Jörgen Persson | SWE | 3 – 1 | Andrzej Grubba | POL | ||
| Match #5 | Tibor Klampár | HUN | 3 – 1 | Ding Yi | AUT | ||
| Match #6 | Chen Longcan | CHN | 3 – 0 | Ilija Lupulesku | YUG | ||
| Match #7 | Kim Gi-Taek | KOR | 3 – 2 | Xu Zengcai | CHN | ||
| Match #8 | Jan-Ove Waldner | SWE | 3 – 2 | Leszek Kucharski | POL |
| Date | 29 September 1988 — 13:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner of each match advanced to next round. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 29 Sep 13:00 | Erik Lindh | SWE | 3 – 1 | Jiang Jialiang | CHN | |
| Match #2 | 29 Sep 13:00 | Yu Nam-Gyu | KOR | 3 – 1 | Jörgen Persson | SWE | |
| Match #3 | 29 Sep 13:00 | Tibor Klampár | HUN | 3 – 2 | Chen Longcan | CHN | |
| Match #4 | 29 Sep 13:00 | Kim Gi-Taek | KOR | 3 – 2 | Jan-Ove Waldner | SWE |
| Date | 1 October 1988 — 9:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winner of each match advanced to next round. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 01 Oct 9:00 | Yu Nam-Gyu | KOR | 3 – 0 | Erik Lindh | SWE | |
| Match #2 | 01 Oct 9:00 | Kim Gi-Taek | KOR | 3 – 0 | Tibor Klampár | HUN |
| Date | 29 September 1988 — 18:20 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 29 Sep 18:20 | Jiang Jialiang | CHN | 3 – 1 | Jörgen Persson | SWE | |
| Match #2 | 29 Sep 18:20 | Chen Longcan | CHN | 3 – 0 | Jan-Ove Waldner | SWE |
| Date | 30 September – 1 October 1988 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1/2 | 01 Oct 21:30 | Yu Nam-Gyu | KOR | 3 – 1 | Kim Gi-Taek | KOR | |
| Match 3/4 | 01 Oct 18:20 | Erik Lindh | SWE | 3 – 1 | Tibor Klampár | HUN | |
| Match 5/6 | 30 Sep | Jiang Jialiang | CHN | 3 – 0 | Chen Longcan | CHN | |
| Match 7/8 | 30 Sep 18:20 | Jörgen Persson | SWE | 3 – 0 | Jan-Ove Waldner | SWE |