Ovtcharov and Tokic Kick off Match in A Duel of Champions

Image from NBC Olympics Live Stream

Table Tennis has been a point of excitement for the Brazilian crowd with local champion Hugo Calderano putting on an amazing display up until elimination in Round 4, but tonight they were in for a real treat.

As we know a table tennis game is played to 11 points, but once the game reaches 10-10 it's one serve each and a win-by-two cut-throat scenario. Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany had survived a 7 game encounter with Li Ping so was no stranger to extreme pressure, Bojan Tokic a fearless opponent from Slovenia.

The combination of the two made for an amazing back and forth test of will and focus. Reaching 10-10 it was a one-serve-each scenario for the two players. This is the Olympics, the pinnacle of table tennis and both players knew that winning the first game would create a mental advantage and take some pressure of their shoulders with a small lead.

That being said, neither player had any intention of losing the game. The score pressed on, one point each for every exchange of service. Tokic winning on his serve, Ovtcharov on his. The German's excitement at winning points off the Slovenian's serve quickly silenced as Tokic struck back leveling it out yet again.

The score pressed ever higher, reaching 20-20 and beyond. Tokic was 28-29 down and called a timeout, a surprising move this late in the set!

The match pressed on, the umpire ran out of scorecards and started again at 1-1 (31-31). The rallies were intense, counterlooping performances that 'wow'ed the audience each and every point with neither playing giving up any ground.

The end result of game 1, 64 points and a 33-31 victory for Bojan Tokic. 1 single game had lasted 26 minutes. To put that in perspective, Ma Long, the top seed, defeated Jonathan Groth of Denmark in Round 3 (a 4-0 win) was completed in 19 minutes.

After the magnitude of the performance it seemed that Tokic was expended and Ovtcharov moved in. A deuce game 12-10 in the German's favor followed by the next two games at 5 and 4 and the final set 11-7. A victory for Ovtcharov, the London 2012 Bronze Medalist and European Games Champion, 4-1.