Olympic Table Tennis Odds & Picks – Men’s Gold & Bronze Medal Games
By Robert Duff in News
Published:
- China’s Zhendong Fan is the -215 favorite over countryman Long Ma in the gold medal match of men’s singles in Olympic table tennis on Friday, July 30
- China will sweep the gold and silver medals for the fourth successive Olympic Games
- Chinese players already swept gold and silver medals in women’s singles table tennis
It only looks like Olympic table tennis is showing reruns of past competitions. That’s because China is once again dominating the event.
Four the fourth straight Olympic Games, the men’s singles final in table tennis will be an all-Chinese affair. Gold medal favorite Zhendong Fan will square off against countryman Long Ma. Those two were expected to be in the final and they’ve lived up to expectations.
Fan continues to be the chalk. The world’s #1-ranked player is the -215 favorite to defeat Ma. It was Ma who won the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.
Zhendong Fan vs Long Ma Gold Medal Odds
| Player | Moneyline |
|---|---|
| Zhendong Fan | -215 |
| Long Ma | +175 |
Odds as of July 30 at DraftKings
The gold medal match is slated to get underway at 8:00 am ET on Friday.
He’s a Big Fan
Although he’s competing in his first Olympics, Fan is the world’s #1-ranked player. He’s also hugely popular in his homeland. Fan’s fans have nicknamed him Little Fatty because of his thick build. He’s won ITTF World Cup men’s singles titles in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
What its like trying to keep up with Fan Zhendong’s speed. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/0LPujlcvHm
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 29, 2021
Fan also won the men’s singles gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. He’s the top-seeded player in men’s singles in the Tokyo Summer Games. Fan’s done nothing to suggest he won’t seal the deal and be #1 when the medals are presented.
Long (Shot) Ma
It isn’t often that the reigning gold medalist goes into the gold medal game as a decided underdog but that’s certainly the case in this instance. The 2016 gold medal winner, Ma hasn’t captured an IITF World Cup title since 2015.
https://twitter.com/chiragsunny009/status/1420673103714144259?s=20
He’s currently ranked #3 in the world but was selected to play in Olympic men’s singles ahead of world #2 Xu Xin. Ma was world champion in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He held the world #1 ranking from 2012-17.
He’s won three Olympic gold medals during his playing career. Ma is one of five male players in table tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam (winning the Olympics, World Championship, and World Cup).
Advantage Fan
Ma’s road to the gold medal match was very similar to his path into the 2020 IITF World Cup final. He needed to gut out a 4-3 win over Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the semifinals. In the 2020 World Cup semifinals, Ma actually fell behind 3-1 to Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto. He ended up rallying for a 4-3 verdict.
Zhendong Fan is so much energy. With Ma Long, there is an economy of movement.
— Ashish Magotra (@clutchplay) July 29, 2021
Fan beat Ma in the 2020 World Cup final. The last victory by Ma over Fan in a major competition came at the 2017 IITF World Cup final.
Pick: Zhendong Fan (-215)
Yun-Ju Lin vs Dimitrij Ovtcharov Bronze Medal Odds
| Player | Moneyline |
|---|---|
| Yun-Ju Lin | -310 |
| Dimitrij Ovtcharov | +245 |
Dimitrij Ovtcharov will be looking for a repeat performance in Tokyo. To do so, though, he’ll need to overcome both the betting odds, as well as the hottest young sensation in table tennis.
Chinese Tapei’s Yun-Ju Lin, just 19 years old, gave Fan all he could handle in the semifinals. Ultimately, Lin succumbed 4-3 but not before establishing that he’ll be a presence on the world stage for years to come.
Taiwan's first Olympic medal in table tennis competition in 20 years. Congratulations on mixed table tennis pair Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) and Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜). @Tokyo2020👏 pic.twitter.com/hQXf2xhY5t
— Echo Cheng (@echotpe) July 26, 2021
Ranked #6 in the world, Lin already has recorded wins over Fan and Ma on the World Cup circuit. He won the 2019 Czech Open. In Tokyo, he’s already helped his country to their first Olympic table tennis medal in 20 years. They won bronze in mixed doubles.
Ovtcharov won the bronze medal in men’s singles at the 2012 London Summer Games. The German player is seeking to join Sweden’s Jan-Ove Waldner (1992, 2000), currently the only European to win multiple Olympic medals in men’s singles table tennis.
https://twitter.com/saiasokkumar2/status/1420673972413243394?s=20
He’ll be looking to win an Olympic medal for the fourth successive Summer Games. Ovtcharov, 32, also has team table tennis medals won in Beijing (silver in 2008) and Rio (bronze in 2016).
He’s a two-time European champion (2013-15) and a two-time IITF World Cup bronze medalist (2013-15).
Pick: Yun-Ju Lin (-310)
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
