mkmixed doubles final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. Photo: Li Hao/GT" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2024/2024-07-31/e0ab9c82-7988-411c-af2e-2cc54da232ea.jpeg" />

China's Wang Chuqin (left) and Sun Yingsha competes in the tabel tennis mixed doubles final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. Photo: Li Hao/GT

 
An Olympic photographer broke a player's paddle. Such behavior was not intentional but should not have happened, said China's table tennis star Wang Chuqin after he found his paddle was damaged by a photographer rushing to capture the celebrations after he won gold in the mixed doubles with teammate Sun Yingsha on Tuesday at the Paris Olympic Games.

Wang and Sun defeated North Korea's Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong 4-2 in a thrilling final, winning China's first gold in table tennis at the Paris Games and it is also China's first-ever Olympic gold in the mixed doubles event. 

The victory sets the stage for China to complete a sweep of all the five medals on offer in Paris. 

Chinese pair Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin missed out on the gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games when the event made its debut at the Olympics. 

When Wang put his paddle aside on the floor in order to hold the national flag for celebration after the final, a group of photographers rushed to the front to capture the moment and inadvertently stepped on his paddle. 

After the photo, Wang's coach Xiao Zhan picked up the paddle, finding it had been broken and thus it can't no longer be used. 

"I feel like I'm a bit out of control in this situation. I don't understand why this happened, but there's nothing I can do about it. I believe I'll still be able to play well with my backup bat. Maybe this is fate," said Wang. 

The incident soon went viral on Chinese social media as some netizens voiced concerns over the impact of using the backup bat in the following matches. 

Former table tennis world champion Fang Bo said that the Chinese players usually bring 3 to 4 spare paddles for international competitions. The spare paddles have been used regularly and it won't have a significant impact on Wang's subsequent matches.

The 23-year-old Wang said he would "give anything for the gold medal". 

"This mixed doubles gold is probably the medal I wanted the most. We put in so much effort for this, but now that we've got it, it is worth it. This is not just our trophy, but it's also the entire team's," he told the Xinhua News Agency. 

Ni Xialian, a 61-year-old former Chinese player who now represents Luxembourg, also sent her congratulations to the duo after the game. Ni had helped the pair prepare for the final as Ni's playing style closely resembles Kim's, making her an excellent training partner for Sun. 

"Congratulations to the Chinese pair. You are the best. I'm very happy. The North Korean pair played very well, but the Chinese team did a better job," said Ni.