An Olympic gold medallist was left distraught after photographers broke his table tennis paddle immediately after his first gold medal win.
On Tuesday, China’s Wang Chuqin was ecstatic after he secured his first Olympic gold medal alongside teammate Sun Yingsha in the table tennis mixed doubles final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
Chinese pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha captured the gold medal for the table tennis mixed doubles event at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
After the match, Wang found his paddle – crucial for his singles and team events – had been damaged by excited photographers. pic.twitter.com/Iqz9ANLnFF
— Hong Kong Satellite TV (@hk_stv) July 31, 2024
It was Chuqin’s first-ever Olympic gold medal win.
However, shortly after Chuqin’s victory, eager Olympics photographers rushed to capture the win.
As they hurried to shoot Chuqin’s triumphant moment, the photographers damaged and broke the table tennis player’s paddle in the process, according to Reuters.
The Olympic Winner Still Needs His Paddle
Chuqin’s joy was immediately cut short by the incident and the Olympics winner was left furious and devastated by the photographers’ actions — especially as he still crucially needs his paddle in the 2024 games.
🏓🥇Champions! 🇨🇳China triumphs over 🇰🇵Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 4-2 to win mixed doubles table tennis gold! 🏅🎉 Congrats to Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha! 👏 #TableTennis #PARIS2024 #Olympic2024 #Olympics #Gold #medals #teamchina pic.twitter.com/K3pmgn9VpU
— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) July 30, 2024
While Chuqin may have just won his first Olympic gold medal yesterday, he had little time to celebrate his victory. At the time, he was still set to face Swedish player Truls Moregard in the men’s singles round of 32. He also has to compete against India in the team event starting August, 6.
Chuqin was seen visibly upset and angry after photographers broke his paddle. According to reports, he demanded an explanation from the photographers and wanted them to be officially reported for damaging his paddle — which was seen bent and out-of-shape.
Chuqin’s coach attempted to hug the table tennis champion in an effort to console him and help him stay calm.
‘I Couldn’t Understand Why The Photographers Would Do That’
At a press conference after his win, Chuqin explained why he lost his composure at the photographers and said that he had accepted what happened to his main paddle.
The table tennis player, who is among the most popular athletes in China, said he hoped he could repeat his victory with his alternate paddle.
“At that moment, I lost control of my emotions a little,” Chuqin told reporters.
“I couldn’t understand why the photographers would do that.
“I guess they didn’t mean it. I can’t do anything now that it’s already happened.
“I believe I’ll still be able to play well with my backup bat. Maybe this is fate.”
Today (July 31), Chuqin, who is China’s table tennis number one, was defeated by Swedish player Moregard at the Olympics in a shock upset to the sport that fans did not see coming.
While Chuqin may have come to terms with the incident, numerous fans voiced their frustration with the photographers on China’s social media platform Weibo.