* Ma wins his first Olympic singles medal
* Defending champion Zhang settles for silver
(Updates with quotes)
By Brenda Goh
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - China's Ma Long overwhelmed his teammate and defending champion Zhang Jike with a 4-0 win to seize gold in the men's table tennis singles final on Thursday, with Japan's Jun Mizutani claiming the bronze.
Ma, the world number one, capitalised on Zhang's mistakes and misses to triumph 14-12, 11-5, 11-4 and 11-4 after thrilling the cheering fans with a high-speed game of rapid-fire spins and quick reflexes.
Ma shaped his fingers into a love-heart that he signalled to the spectators as he celebrated his victory. He then held up a Chinese flag with Zhang to reflect the country's continued domination in the game.
"This is the first time I've participated in such a final, so I felt I had to play like mad to achieve this result," the 27-year-old Ma told reporters.
The Olympic medal was the only table tennis accolade that has eluded Ma, who failed to get a singles spot on the Chinese team in London four years ago due to a series of unexpected losses during the qualifiers, despite being world number one at the time.
The Olympics allow only two players from each country to compete in the singles event.
"The main one was the first set, once I lost that I wanted to catch up and win but I found that winning a point was very difficult," Zhang, 28, said. "You can't compare this to my match four years ago because the opponent is different."
Mizutani clinched bronze by beating Belarusian Vladimir Samsonov, giving Japan its first ever medal in the table tennis men's singles and its second medal ever in the sport.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes) ((brenda.goh@thomsonreuters.com; +86)(0)(21 6104 1763; Reuters Messaging: brenda.goh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
* Defending champion Zhang settles for silver
(Updates with quotes)
By Brenda Goh
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - China's Ma Long overwhelmed his teammate and defending champion Zhang Jike with a 4-0 win to seize gold in the men's table tennis singles final on Thursday, with Japan's Jun Mizutani claiming the bronze.
Ma, the world number one, capitalised on Zhang's mistakes and misses to triumph 14-12, 11-5, 11-4 and 11-4 after thrilling the cheering fans with a high-speed game of rapid-fire spins and quick reflexes.
Ma shaped his fingers into a love-heart that he signalled to the spectators as he celebrated his victory. He then held up a Chinese flag with Zhang to reflect the country's continued domination in the game.
"This is the first time I've participated in such a final, so I felt I had to play like mad to achieve this result," the 27-year-old Ma told reporters.
The Olympic medal was the only table tennis accolade that has eluded Ma, who failed to get a singles spot on the Chinese team in London four years ago due to a series of unexpected losses during the qualifiers, despite being world number one at the time.
The Olympics allow only two players from each country to compete in the singles event.
"The main one was the first set, once I lost that I wanted to catch up and win but I found that winning a point was very difficult," Zhang, 28, said. "You can't compare this to my match four years ago because the opponent is different."
Mizutani clinched bronze by beating Belarusian Vladimir Samsonov, giving Japan its first ever medal in the table tennis men's singles and its second medal ever in the sport.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes) ((brenda.goh@thomsonreuters.com; +86)(0)(21 6104 1763; Reuters Messaging: brenda.goh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
