China clinched all six individual medals in table tennis yesterday, after Wang Liqin beat Sweden's Jorgen Persson in the bronze medal match of men's singles to seal a sweep of the event.

Persson, a 42-year-old playing in his sixth Olympics, was the only athlete who could have stopped China from utterly dominating table tennis at the Beijing Games. He opened strong against Wang but withered quickly against the high-speed topspin shots that are the specialty of the tall Chinese player.

"They played perfectly to create this perfect ending for the pingpong competition at the Beijing Olympics. I never dreamed it would be so easy," Chinese coach Liu Guoliang said.

The Chinese men and women opened the competition by rolling over their opponents en route to winning the team events. The women swept the singles medals on Friday.

The Chinese men and women opened the competition by rolling over their opponents en route to winning the team events. The women swept the singles medals on Friday. In the gold medal match later yesterday, world No. 2 Ma Lin of China defeated top-ranked teammate Wang Hao.

Though China has always been dominant in its national sport of table tennis, the record eight-medal haul is the strongest showing yet. Previously, it swept all three medals only once, in the women's singles event at the 1988 Seoul Games.

The men’s final was played with three red flags of China already prepared for the medal ceremony.

Ma outlasted Wang Hao in a tense matchup that showcased China's overwhelming skill in pingpong. The men tried to outwit each other with dynamic play that ranged from soft pushes to high-speed volleys. Ma won with a score of 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9.