2000 Sydney: Kong Linghui Overcame The "Ove-Phobia" (Videos)

The Chinese Team started to make their presence felt in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where Chinese players reached the finals. At that time, it was Liu Guoliang who offered the first gold Men Singles medal after defeating Wang Tao. 

Although the Chinese Team was considered to be a strong force in Table Tennis, the Swedish Team was definitely not an easy team to overcome. Actually, it was the Swedish Team who won in the finals of the 2000 World Team Championships against the very same Chinese, on February 2000. Later, in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Jorgen Persson and Jan-Ove Waldner both challenged the Chinese players Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang in the semifinals. 

Jan-Ove Waldner was considered to be a mountain that lies in front of the Chinese Team for the past 20 years. His elusive serves and his outstanding skills have caused the Chinese players an illness called "Ove-phobia." In the semifinal round, the reigning Olympic champion Liu Guoliang was beaten by the great Waldner while Kong Linghui won against Jorgen Persson. As a result, it was another "Sweden versus China" battle.  

J-O Waldner vs Liu Guoliang 2000 Olympics MS SF (bad quality)
video kindly shared by steffo611

Kong Linghui vs Jorgen Persson 2000 Olympics MS SF PART 1
video kindly shared by pingpongstadiums8

Kong Linghui vs Jorgen Persson 2000 Olympics MS SF PART 2
video kindly shared by pingpongstadiums8

Kong Linghui vs Jorgen Persson 2000 Olympics MS SF PART 3
video kindly shared by pingpongstadiums8

Before the final battle, Jan-Ove Waldner actually believed that he had the advantage in the psychological condition and experience over Kong Linghui. At that point, the Sydney Olympic Games was coming to an end. The Chinese Team has already swept the gold and silver medals in the Women Doubles, Women Singles and the Men Doubles. This was a triple edge sword for Kong Linghui: overcome the great J-O Waldner, complete the Chinese sweep, and achieve Grand Slam... or nothing.

The Sydney Olympic Men Singles finals took place in the evening of September 25th. That time, Jan-Ove Waldner was almost 35 years old but still has the strength to win any match. However, the Chinese player Kong came prepared for the battle. Along with the cheers from the approximately 3,000 Chinese compatriots, Kong Linghui successfully overwhelmed Waldner in the first two sets. It was a big 2-0 lead in favor of Kong Linghui. 

However, in the third set, J-O Waldner found himself a bright idea and was able to take control over the table from Kong Linghui. As a result, the match reached the decider fifth set. 

Before the decider started, Cai Zhenhua reminded Kong Linghui. "You must dare to pick up his serves and be bold enough. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. If you will play safe then your opponent will take advantage and attack you in all sorts. You must hit the ball into his most uncomfortable place." 

Kong Linghui vs J-O Waldner 2000 Olympics MS Finals
video kindly shared by janus770

Indeed, Kong Linghui was able to achieve momentum as he nailed a big 9-1 lead. Jan-Ove Waldner tried to catch up in 13-18 but Kong Linghui was just not affected by such sign of recovery. At the end, Kong Linghui recorded a wonderful 3-2 victory. Kong Linghui did not just win the Olympics but also earned himself the Grand Slam. 

As for the reigning Olympic champion Liu Guoliang, he won over Jorgen Persson the bronze medal completing the Chinese victory over Sweden.

Liu Guoliang vs Jorgen Persson 2000 Olympics MS Bronze
video kindly shared by takkyu101

After he won the match, Kong Lighui kissed the flag on his uniform, closed his eyes, shouted at the top of his lungs, tears fell from his eyes and jumped into his coach's arms to celebrate. This scene has become a classic moment in the Olympic history. 

True enough, the Swedish players like Jan-Ove Waldner and Jorgen Persson have really challenged the current Table Tennis superpower in the old days. If the current Swedish Team can bring back their strength and glory in Table Tennis, perhaps in some future Olympic Games, then it will surely make it interesting to see the Chinese players feeling some threat.  

Photo source: torchrelay.beijing2008.cn