How close did China's men come to getting beaten in Monday's table tennis semifinal against Germany? So close that coach Liu Guoliang made a confession.
"I was very nervous during the match," he said.
That's a big deal. Liu doesn't reveal much, particularly to non-Chinese reporters.
Gold-medal singles champion Zhang Jike also acknowledged having butterflies in a match China eventually won 3-1. Zhang also dropped his guard when pressed.
"I was nervous, but not especially nervous," said Zhang, who looked down and sent messages on his phone while taking questions. "This is normal for any human. We all get nervous."
- Stephen Wade - Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP
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