Chinese table tennis player Fan Zhendong's alma mater in southern China's Guangzhou City watched the Olympic final and celebrated his Olympic singles gold that sealed a career grand slam.
Fan defeated Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-1 to win the men's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. The win made him the 10th Chinese player to achieve a Grand Slam, having won the World Championships, World Cup and Olympic titles.
The match drew national attention as it was the first time in 20 years that a player from outside China had challenged for the men's singles gold medal at the Olympics since Korea's Ryu Seung Min defeated China's Wang Hao, Fan's coach, in the 2004 final.
Teachers, coaches and students from the Guangzhou Sports Polytechnic, where Fan was trained as a child, gathered in the hall to watch the final and enthusiastically cheer on their alumnus.
The crowd roared after the 27-year-old Chinese player won the gold medal point with a backhand shot.
After the match, the audience members spectating from Guangzhou offered well-wishes to the honored alumnus.
"I hope he can continue his efforts, play well in the group matches and win another gold medal for the country. I hope he'll go for it," said Zhang Min, Fan's training coach.
"[He] inspired me to keep going when I want to give up. Come on, Fan Zhendong, come on, my senior!" said Dong Houxuan, a table tennis student at Guangzhou Sports Polytechnic.
Olympian Fan Zhendong’s alma mater celebrate table tennis gold
Olympian Fan Zhendong’s alma mater celebrate table tennis gold
Beijing's consumer gold market has been running hot during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, despite recent rises in the gold price on international markets.
Last week, the main contract for gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) has risen to over 2,600 U.S. dollars per ounce.
At a gold shop in Beijing's Xicheng District, the price of pure gold jewelry went up to about 737 yuan (about 104 U.S. dollars) per gram, but many shoppers are still looking to buy gold jewelry especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and the end-of-summer wedding season.
"It is now more than 700 yuan (about 98.7 U.S. dollars) per gram, but when we were here about two months ago, it was only just above 600 yuan (about 84.6 U.S. dollars) per gram," said a customer.
"I'm getting married, so I came to have a look. Even if the price goes up, we still have to buy it," said another customer.
"I had nothing to do during the holidays, so I came here to take a look [at the gold jewelry]. I just bought a lucky charm bead and now I want to take a look at the bracelet," said another customer.
At the shop's gold investment counter, many consumers have been making inquiries about gold bars, which has long been considered a safe investment, although experts recommend caution in the rising gold market.
At the shop's gold investment counter, many consumers have been inquiring about gold bars, which have long been considered a safe investment. However, experts recommend caution in the rising gold market.
"Many investors will buy gold bars for medium- to long-term investment based on their expected price as part of their overall family asset allocation. We suggest that investors be more rational in their decisions," said Li Yang, a senior gold investment analyst.
Beijing consumer gold market remains hot despite rising prices
Beijing consumer gold market remains hot despite rising prices
