Let me summarize my experience. I attended the men's team final at Paris Arena Sud 4. I almost missed the start because I was watching everything from home in a different time zone. I thought I had 2 hours before the match, but it turned out to be 1 hour. I had to rush to the arena (about 30 minutes away). When I arrived, there was a huge crowd of Chinese fans ahead of me, so I definitely wasn't the last one.
The venue was packed. The vast majority of the audience was from China. I saw two Swedish flags, and there was a noisy fan near me who managed to outshout the Chinese supporters.
The Chinese fans were quiet and reserved individually, but when someone started a chant in support of a player, the entire arena joined in.
I believe the overwhelming fan support has an impact on players in critical moments.
Each match was close.
I was with my wife, and she couldn't see the dominance of China because the Swedes pushed every match to the decisive game, and the play was often evenly matched.
The fans were very loud in their support of Ma Long. It seemed like a large number of young women were cheering for WCQ.
As for the game itself, it looks significantly slower in real life than on the screen. Watching on screen is more convenient, but the atmosphere in the arena is fantastic.
The final score was 3-0 in favor of China, but the score doesn't reflect the gameplay. The Swedes played excellently. I really wanted Kristian Karlsson to beat WCQ, as it would have given us another chance to see FZD or Ma Long play. Kristian played very well, though I was hoping that Källberg would be chosen for the third game, as his chances of winning would have been higher.
During the match, the Chinese player who was scheduled to play next left to warm up with his personal coach. The Swedes didn't do this. During WCQ's match, the Chinese players sat on the bench, perhaps confident in the victory and not planning to warm up for the next game. When the score became tied, Wang Hao sent FZD to warm up, indicating that Ma Long wasn't initially planned for the singles matches.
WCQ played the fastest and most aggressively of all. FZD was ready to play a more defensive game, slightly farther from the table, counterattacking. Truls is a showman, and Karlsson is a fighter.
In the end, Ma Long became the first Chinese athlete to win 6 Olympic gold medals. FZD earned his gold in the individual event, and WCQ gained even more fans for his fan club.