Olympic Games in Paris. “American women who defeated Chinese women in the table tennis final”? We translate

On August 3 and 4, posts circulated online, the authors of which attached a photo from the ongoing Olympic Games in Paris – five female athletes can be seen in it. In one of the posts the author wrote that “The American women's Ping Pong team defeated China”. By August 8, the post had over 220,000 views. “And it's great that they've gone over to the democratic side”; “A typical American team”; “Girls from Arizona”, “So why are you posting a picture of Chinese girls?” – these were the comments (original spelling of all posts). It's clear from them that they were about the appearance of the American players – or more precisely: their origin.

Other popular posts explained, for example, that “Americans bought five Chinese women for ping-pong” or significantly emphasized: “American women who defeated Chinese women in the table tennis final.”

Posts with this photo were most frequently published right after the singles final of the table tennis players – it took place in the afternoon of August 3. In this final They competed two Chinese athletes – Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha. Chen Meng defeated compatriot Sun Yingsha 4:2. Interestingly, the final line-up was identical to the 2021 Tokyo Games, and Chen also won 4:2. This year, Japanese Hina Hayata stood on the podium alongside the Chinese.

As for the team competitions and the sentence repeated in the posts that “the American women's ping pong team defeated China” – we inform you that the finals in this category had not yet been played before the publication of our text. Therefore, the phrase that “the American women defeated the Chinese women in the table tennis final” was untrue on the day of publication of these posts.

And when we publish this text – August 8 – it is also untrue. The last stages of the team tournament took place on August 5, 6 and 7 (1/8 and 1/4 finals). In the 1/8 finals (August 6) The American women lost to the Germans (2:3) – and they were eliminated from the tournament, so it is impossible to compete with the Chinese. The semi-finals are scheduled for August 8 (China and South Korea, Germany and Japan), and the finals for August 10.

So where does the photo posted by internet users come from? And who is in it? We already know that it was not taken at the end of a won quarterfinal, semifinal or final match in Paris. The photo can be found on the official Instagram describing the struggles of the United States national table tennis team. It was published on July 26, 2024“A postcard from Paris featuring our United States table tennis team: Amy, Rachel, and Lily, reserve Sally, and coach Gao in training,” it was described.

The photo from the training session shows the US team players. And they are Americans: Amy Wang (born in Sewell, New Jersey), Rachel Sung (from San Jose, California), Lily Zhang (from Redwood City, California), reserve Sally Moyland (born in Fremont, California) and coach Jun Gao – also an American, although born in Baoding, China, a four-time Olympian and member of the Chinese and American national and Olympic teams.

The women's team wasn't going to Paris for gold. Olympic veteran (she's been to Paris, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and London) Zhang reached the round of 16 in singles, while Olympic debutants Wang (who started playing for the U.S. national team at age 12) and the youngest, 20-year-old Sung, were in the French capital mainly to gain experience and return to the Games in four years.

The Asian roots of the US players – which Internet users are so keen to point out – should not surprise anyone who is even a little interested in sports. Table Tennis It is considered the national sport of China. Since 2008, when the women's team competition debuted in the Olympic program, the gold medal has been won by Chinese women every time. And it is not only the US team that has competitors with Chinese roots – in this year's Olympic teams, there are also such competitors in the following teams: German (Shan Xiaona and Yuan Wan), Canadian (Mo Zhang), Chilean (Zhiying Zeng), French (Yuan Jia Nan), Monaco (Xiaoxin Yang), Portuguese (Shao Jieni and Fu Yu), Spanish (María Xiao).

Poland also has a competitor of Chinese origin in this discipline. She trains in Tarnobrzeg (she got there in 2002). She was born in 1986 in Baoding Li Qian – silver and bronze medalist of the European Championships. She was the first Polish table tennis player to win the right to play at the Olympic Games (in Beijing in 2008). Qian is also an Olympian from London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016).

Finally, one more explanation for those unfamiliar with sports: ping pong and table tennis are not the same. These sports differ not only in rules and style of play, but also in equipment – and rank.