The South Korean paddler was the first ever TT gold medal winner (Men)
2000 Sydney Olympics – Kong Linghui
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Kong Linghui is considered to be one of the most complete players of all time
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Kong Linghui first tasted success in the Olympics when he won the gold medal in the 1996 doubles event along with Liu Guoliang. 4 years later, the Chinese paddler wonan Olympic singles gold medal of his own when he won a memorable final against Jan-Ove Waldner.
In what is considered to be one of the best finals of all time, Kong Linghui showcased brilliant all-round attacking play to overcome his idol Waldner. Playing with a shake-hand grip, Linghui had modelled his game on the legendary Swedes Waldner and Persson, but he created his own legacy in the TT world winning the Olympic singles medal and becoming only the third men's player to complete a career grand slam.
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Linghui is currently the coach of the Chinese women team and he along with Liu Guoliang were the first paddlers to truly start Chinese domination.
The below video contains full highlights of the final between Kong Linghui and Waldner:
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About the author
Ashwin Hanagudu
A Bengaluru lad through and through, Ashwin Hanagudu is a huge fan of Liverpool and unsurprisingly pledges his sworn allegiance to RCB in the IPL. With over 8+ years of experience in this field, Ashwin manages multiple verticals at Sportskeeda and as of July 2024 is the most-read author in the football section.
Apart from his duties at Sportskeeda, Ashwin Hanagudu is also an active table tennis player and has played multiple state ranking and national tournaments representing Karnataka.
A huge sports fan, some of the athletes and sportspersons he admires in no particular order are Virat Kohli, Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu
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