LONDON, Aug 2: China’s Zhang Jike won the men’s singles table tennis gold medal at the London Olympic Games after defeating compatriot Wang Hao 4-1 in the final here on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Zhang, in his first Olympics Games, stormed into a 3-0 lead before Wang, the singles silver medallist in Beijing four years ago, hit back. But Zhang held his nerve for an 18-16, 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 13-11 win.

Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov took bronze after a 4-2 win over Chuang Chih-Yuan of Chinese Taipei.

Zhang’s victory gave China their second table tennis gold of the Games after Li Xiaoxia defeated Ding Ning in another all-Chinese clash in the women’s singles final.

China have dominated table tennis since the game was introduced into the Olympics in 1988. They have now won 22 of 26 gold medals in the sport and are expected to sweep to win two more in the team event.—AFP