Sweden against China in a major team final in table tennis. It's conditions that make every blue-yellow sports romantic's mouth water.
For Truls Möregårdh as well.
It's a throwback to "the old days" with the old legends. It's fun that we've managed to get where they were. Hopefully, we'll be able to do just as well as they did when they broke the mold. So it's about believing in it all the way, says Möregårdh.
At 3:00 PM, he enters the pingishallen for the last time in Paris, together with Anton Källberg and Kristian Karlsson. On the other side stands a Chinese men's team that has never missed an Olympic Games gold, which has won all World Championships since 2000.
Want to stress the Chinese
That time, it was Peter Karlsson, Jan-Ove Waldner, and Jörgen Persson – some of those old stars that Möregårdh is referring to – who secured a Swedish World Championship gold.
But if they could, we can, reasons the Swedish team, coached by Jörgen Persson. The semifinal feat against Japan, where Sweden turned 0–2 into 3–2 in matches, should scare even the world's best table tennis nation.
We're going to try to put pressure on the Chinese, at least so they start getting a little stressed, says Truls Möregårdh.
They have a lot of self-confidence, and they should have it. But it's not fun to see a team make a comeback like we did.
Already a success
His own Olympic Games are already a formidable success. In the singles tournament, he took silver after, among other things, knocking out the Chinese world number one Wang Chuqin.
Two Olympic finals in Paris was something he couldn't have dreamed of before the games.
If you had said that beforehand, I would have said you're crazy, says Möregårdh.
But now we're here, and I feel collected and ready to take on the task.
