Complete, ruthless, aggressive and dominant — no single word quite describes China's Olympic and world champion paddler Fan Zhendong when he unleashes his fierce precision. He simply leaves his opponent, and the world, in awe.

Fan Zhendong of China reacts during the men's singles gold medal match of table tennis between Truls Moregard of Sweden and Fan Zhendong of China at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, on Aug 4, 2024. 

The "baby-faced assassin", as he is known among his adoring fans for his cherubic features and deadly wrist, took the table tennis world by storm on Sunday, as he romped to a 49-minute 4-1 win over Sweden's Truls Moregard in the final of the men's singles to claim first Olympic gold medal of his career. It also means he has completed a prestigious "Grand Slam" by collecting titles at the World Championships, World Cup and, now, the Olympics.

It was eight years in the making, and countless challenges had to be overcome, not just from overseas opponents, but as many, if not more so from his world-class teammates, as he fought for supremacy in, arguably, the most intense "civil war" of any sport's national program. It has forged Fan's already steely will to the point of invincibility.

Fan's win on Sunday at the South Paris Arena — an almost "home court", packed by red-flag-waving Chinese fans — has redeemed the narrow defeat he suffered at the hands of his legendary teammate Ma Long in the singles final at Tokyo 2020, inspiring Fan to keep pushing to achieve a "double-slam" by 2028, as Ma did in 2021.

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