Everyone's hearts tugged at for 1 hour and 8 minutes.
"I'm so nervous!" Liu Guoliang, chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said.
"It hurts my heart!" 61-year-old national table tennis head coach Li Falcon said.
Wang Hao in the coach's seat had tears in his eyes, and Ma Long's eyes in the stands were tight.
On August 1, in Hall 4 of the South Paris Arena, the quarterfinals of the men's singles table tennis at the Paris Olympics shocked everyone.
On August 1, Fan Zhendong greeted the audience after the game. On the same day, in the quarterfinals of the men's singles table tennis at the Paris Olympics, China's Fan Zhendong defeated Japan's Tomokazu Zhangmoto 4-3 and advanced to the semifinals. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Dongzhen
The game came to the tiebreaker, and the score came to 10:7, Fan Zhendong's match point.
As Fan Zhendong hit a slash ball with his forehand, Zhang Benzhi and Wangqiu sighed, and the whole court instantly boiled. Zhang Ben hung his head helplessly, and "Little Fat" opened his arms, closed his eyes, and embraced this difficult victory.
This is a national table tennis men's singles game that cannot be lost. Before the game, no one could have predicted that it would be so difficult to win, in the form of a shocking reversal.
In this Olympic Games, the goal of the Chinese table tennis team is to win 5 golds. In the men's singles event, the national table tennis sent Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, hoping that they could meet in the finals. But the world is unpredictable, with the "big head" coming out of the game early, the stable "double insurance" of the men's singles has become a one-person struggle, and thousands of expectations are tied to the "little fat".
On August 1, Fan Zhendong (left) was in the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Dongzhen
In the quarterfinals that night, Fan Zhendong met his fierce rival - Tomokazu Zhangmoto of Japan. The match was described by the media as a "finale staged earlier".
The scene was full, and the national table tennis men's team also came to the scene to watch the game.
In the first game, Zhang Benzhihe took advantage of Fan Zhendong's "hot hand" to play a beautiful "blitzkrieg" and quickly won the first place 11:2.
Before the start of the second game, the national table tennis soldiers stood up to cheer for the "little fat", Fan Zhendong began to slowly find his touch, reduced unnecessary mistakes, and bit the score to 9:9, but unfortunately in the last two balls, he failed to seize the opportunity and lost another game at 9:11.
Before the start of the third game, the sweaty Fan Zhendong applied for a change of shirt. Back on the stage, he took the initiative to strengthen the forehand attack, changed the decline of the first two games, brought the game into his own rhythm, and pulled back a game at 11:4.
Before the start of the fourth game, Tomokazu Zhang also applied for a change of jersey. After the opening, Zhang Ben took the lead in scoring with a backhand, and then the scores of the two sides rose alternately, and the two fought to 7:7. Fan Zhendong, who regained his touch, became more and more courageous, scoring 4 points in a row and equalizing the big score.
On August 1, Fan Zhendong was in the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Dongzhen
In the fifth game, Tomokazu Zhang played a "fast battle" again, easily won 11:4, and took the lead again with a score of 3:2.
In the crucial sixth game, Fan Zhendong has been leading by a narrow margin. When the score came to 6:4, the national table tennis soldiers stood up again, and Wang Chuqin applauded vigorously. After that, the two sides played a good offensive ball, the applause on the scene was thunderous, "Little Fat" led 7:5, Zhang Ben chased to 6:7, and Wang Hao decisively applied for a timeout. After the pause, Fan Zhendong became more and more courageous, 11:7, and the score was pulled to 3:3.
There was a pause between the games, and the atmosphere was suffocating. The two sides are back to the starting line again, and the outcome is unpredictable.
A heart-wrenching tiebreaker has arrived. At the beginning, Fan Zhendong won two goals first. At this time, Tomokazu Zhang applied for a change on the grounds that the ball was sweaty. After changing the ball, he chased 4 points in a row, 4:2 advantage, Fan Zhendong decisively adjusted his tactics, and also scored 4 points in a row, 6:4. 6:5, 6:6, Zhang Ben chased two points in a row. Wang Hao nervously stood up from the coach's seat.
7:7! The two sides drew again. Some people at the scene kept shouting and cheering, some people blindfolded their hands with their hands, and some people covered their hands on their chests.
At this time, on the circle of friends and Weibo, it seems that the heart is not good. "Heart attack is coming!" I don't dare to watch the live broadcast, my heart is bad!" The heart is overloaded tonight!"
On August 1, Fan Zhendong celebrates after his victory. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Zijian
At the critical moment, Fan Zhendong did not hesitate, he insisted on the tactics of strong attack and worked, scoring 4 points in a row. 11:7!Fan Zhendong counterattacked Tomokazu Zhang 4:3 and advanced to the semifinals.
In an interview, Fan Zhendong was still sweating profusely: "Everyone played very well today, and the opponent was not only fully prepared for himself, but also fully prepared for my tactics. ”
Tomokazu Zhang did not hesitate to praise this game: "I played 100% of my ball, I am very satisfied, but in the last two games, I saw the strength of Fan Zhendong, and his desire to win the game in the end is stronger than mine." ”
On August 1, Fan Zhendong (above) and Tomokazu Zhang were in the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Yu
Speaking of the change of clothes between the two, Zhang Benzhihe smiled: "At 0:2, he changed his clothes first, probably because he wanted to change the rhythm." After I lost a game, I quickly applied for a change of jersey, but these are all objective reasons, mainly strength. You can see that he usually trains much more intensively than I do. ”
Without a strong heart, you can't take a strong opponent. When it comes to the key to winning, Fan Zhendong thinks it is still "willpower": "I thought about it at the time, I want to fight to the last ball, and I want to win the game!"
"I hope he (Fan Zhendong) can get a satisfactory result. If he had won the gold medal, I would have lost today. Zhang Ben said. (Xinhua News Agency)