The table tennis men’s singles event at the Paris Olympics came to a close on Sunday (Aug 4), with China’s former world number one Fan Zhendong beating Sweden’s Truls Moregardh to clinch gold.
For those who don’t know, Zhendong, 27, was in Singapore in March for the World Table Tennis Grand Smash. He did not progress to the top 16 and saw his world number one spot taken over by his compatriot Wang Chuqin.
His loss was not without controversy. A clip of Zhendong belting out the first bridge of ‘Cruel Summer’ at Taylor Swift’s concert in Singapore went viral shortly after his defeat.
What came next was harsh criticism from netizens, who said he lost his match because he “took time off to have fun”.
Zhendong responded to the online hate, stating that all he did was “take three hours off [his] busy schedule two days before the competition to attend the event that all Swifties dreamt of going for.”
He added that he has “never slacked off in the 10 plus years when it comes to fighting for [his] country’s glory”.
Did we expect anything less from a Swiftie?
True to his Swiftie heart, after his Olympic triumph, Zhendong took to Weibo to share Taylor Swift’s ‘The Alchemy’ in celebration of his accomplishment, while promising to continue working hard in the team matches.