Winner of silver comforts his fans

China's Wang Hao salutes with a Chinese flag after his loss to compatriot Zhang Jike in their men's singles gold medal table tennis match at the ExCel venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 2, 2012.??[Photo/Agencies]

After countryman Zhang Jike converted the match point, Wang Hao graciously accepted his third silver medal in men's singles table tennis in as many Olympics.

Showing no tears or remorse, the 29-year-old veteran smiled to the camera and encouraged his fans with respect, generosity and calm.

"My fans and audience may be even more disappointed than I am," Wang said when asked by foreign reporters at the post-match news conference if he was unhappy about having to settle for a silver again.

"But I'm strong as ever. And I hope they can stay strong to go on" with their focus and support, he said.

Wang's words of comfort to his fans won warm applause from the reporters. Although he lost the event, he still smiled to interviewers.

"Everyone wants to win gold, and I've done my best. It's normal to lose to Zhang. He's the rising star leader of our team. I believe he deserves to head the national men's table tennis team."

For Wang, the Olympic gold medal is the last step he needs for a "grand slam" of table tennis. The then-27-year-old already has won the World Table Tennis Championships, in 2009, and the Table Tennis World Cup, in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008, defeated by South Korea's Ryu Seung Min and compatriot Ma Lin respectively.

He said he hopes he can play in the next Olympics and enjoy a sporting life as long as Ma Lin and Wang Liqin, former leaders of the Chinese ping-pong team.

"I hope my hard-work can be constantly recognized by the coaches. The lost won't influence my spirit. I will spare no effort to do better and win the following team competition with my teammates," he said.