World Table Tennis Europe Smash – Sweden 2025: Truls Möregårdh sends Sweden into party mode
Möregårdh was the conductor of the entire Swedish population urging him on in the final. Roared on with every point, he took an emphatic opening game against a shellshocked Lin, who was fighting to stay afloat with the Swede’s offensive game plan. That included a fast ball striking Lin’s body, though the 20-year-old responded with an equalising game.
Möregårdh’s aggressive approach was keeping him at bay with the world no. 1, and though an injury scare on his ankle might have slowed him down, the double Olympic medallist fought on to retake the lead.
The 23-year-old was enjoying himself and bellowed his way ever closer to a historic triumph, going 3-1 up on the scoreboard. Top seed Lin was not going to go down that easily, striking back with a surge of quiet confidence and working his way back into the final point by point.
While Möregårdh was playing superbly to the energy of the crowd, it brought out more unforced errors and raised the tension levels as Lin set up two game points.
The Swede held his nerve to deny 20-year-old Li and set up his first championship point, only to miss it and allow Lin to create a third game point and come from behind to force a deciding seventh game.
With so little to separate the pair, Möregårdh drew level on Lin’s serve for a second championship point. An unbelievable rally pushed both men to the limit, and at last, the Swede broke down Lin to seal a dream title on home soil in Malmö.