Germany’s men’s table tennis team, led by the renowned player Timo Boll, had been a top contender at the Olympics since table tennis was added to the games in Beijing in 2008. However, their streak of winning medals came to an end at the Paris Games. On August 6, the team lost a tight 3-2 match against Sweden, which prevented them from reaching the semifinals. This defeat also marked the end of Timo Boll’s distinguished career. Sweden, having won both the doubles match and a crucial singles game, advanced to the semifinals where they faced Japan. Japan had earned their place by defeating Taiwan 3-1.

In a dramatic match, Timo Boll, aged 43, displayed great determination against Sweden’s Anton Kallberg. Despite losing the first two games, Boll came back to win the fourth game and equalized the score. However, Kallberg won the final game with a score of 11-9. Boll expressed admiration for Sweden’s performance and felt disappointment over the early exit. Meanwhile, Japan’s success was highlighted by Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka winning the doubles match and Tomokazu Harimoto’s key victory against Taiwan’s Lin Yun-Ju. However, Japan lost their semifinal match to Sweden, which prevented them from advancing to the final. In other updates, Germany’s women’s team reached the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the United States. Additionally, China’s Ma Long and Wang Chuqin won their doubles match, while South Korea’s teams achieved impressive 3-0 victories.