PARIS: North Korea won their first Olympic medal in eight years on Tuesday in Paris but had to settle for silver after defeat in mixed-doubles to table tennis superpower China.
China arrived in Paris as the world's undisputed table tennis kings, having won 32 of the 37 available gold medals since it became an Olympic sport.
They failed to claim the mixed doubles title when it was introduced three years ago in Tokyo but Wang Chuqin-Sun Yingsha set the record straight with an 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8 win over North Korea's Ri Jong Sik-Kim Kum Yong.
It was the first gold of what China hope will be a clean sweep of table tennis in the French capital.
For North Korea, they skipped the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 over coronavirus concerns.
Ri and Kim will be on the medals podium with the South Korean duo Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, who won bronze.
The Chinese pair had overwhelming support from the red-clad fans inside the standing room-only South Paris Arena, who cheered and chanted throughout the match.
Wang and Sun, who have not lost outside China for four years and are the world's number one-ranked pair, took control early by winning the first game.
North Korea battled back to even things up but China took the next two games to put themselves on the brink of gold.
North Korea pulled a game back to stay in it but China saw out a tense end to the match to take the title.
Japan won the inaugural Olympic mixed doubles final in Tokyo, beating China in the final. - AFP