List of Olympic Medalists in Table Tennis

List Of Olympic Medalists In Table Tennis

Table tennis is among the sports contested at the Summer Olympic Games. It was introduced at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where singles and doubles tournaments were held for both genders. The doubles events were dropped from the 2008 Summer Olympics program and replaced by team events. The competitions are conducted in accordance with the rules established by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

Wang Nan (China) is the all-time Olympic medal leader, having won four golds—a figure shared with fellow Chinese players Deng Yaping and Zhang Yining—and one silver medal. Liu Guoliang, Wang Liqin (China), and Yoo Nam-Kyu (South Korea) have won the most medals in the men's competitions, with four each, while Ma Lin (China) is the only male with three gold medals. Seven players have won four medals, including Qiao Hong and Chen Jing (China), and six have won three. Chen Jing competed for China when she won her first two medals in 1988, and for Chinese Taipei when she gained her most recent two medals at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. Since 1992, the winner of the women's singles has also won the doubles or team event: Deng Yaping, in 1992 and 1996; Wang Nan, in 2000; and Zhang Yining, in 2004 and 2008. In the men's competition, only Liu Guoliang (1996) and Ma Lin (2008) have achieved this feat. Besides Deng and Zhang, no other female or male player has successfully defended their singles title, while in the doubles, back-to-back victories were achieved by Deng Yiaping and Qiao Hong (1992, 1996), and Wang Nan (with Li Ju in 2000, and Zhang Yining in 2004).

China has been the most successful nation in Olympic table tennis, winning 41 medals (20 gold, 13 silver, and 8 bronze). Since 1992, Chinese players have won at least one medal in every event. At the 2008 Games, China achieved an unprecedented medal sweep in both the men's and women's singles tournaments, and won both team tournaments. With 17 medals, South Korea is second to China in the overall medal count, and is the only other nation to have won more than three medals. As of the 2008 Summer Olympics, 76 medals (24 gold, 24 silver, and 28 bronze) have been awarded to 55 players selected from 11 National Olympic Committees (NOC). Third-place matches were not held at the 1992 Summer Olympics, so all losing semifinalists were given bronze medals, resulting in four additional bronze medalists.