Mizutani/Ito bag home table tennis mixed doubles gold at Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO -- Japanese pair Jun Mizutani/Mima Ito bagged home a historic gold medal in table tennis mixed doubles after upsetting China's Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen in a seven-set thriller at the Tokyo Olympic Games here on Monday.

It is Japan's first Olympic gold medal in table tennis, after having bagged two silver and two bronze.

The mixed doubles event makes its debut on Olympic stage this time in Tokyo, seeing top two seeds advance to the final as expected.

Reigning world champion Xu and Liu heated quick into the game, going ahead 11-5, 11-7 after two sets.

However, the host pair put on a fierce fightback from there, winning 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in the next three sets to turn the tides.

Despite taking away the sixth set 11-6 to force a decider, Xu and Liu could not maintain their momentum afterward, seeing Japanese rivals race ahead 8-0 en route to 11-6.