ATHENS, Aug. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Newly crowned men's table tennis champion Ryu Seung Min never expected he became the man who created history at the Olympic Games.

    When the 22-year-old surprised Chinese Wang Hao on his third match point in the men's singles final Monday, Ryu became the first South Korean man to clinch this title since his compatriot Yoo Nam-Kyu won at home during the sport's Olympic debut in Seoul in 1988.

    More importantly, Ryu ended China's dominance in the Olympic table tennis court after the Chinese paddlers swept all four golds in the past two Olympics.

    "This is the most important and best match in my whole career. To be honest, I didn't expect to win the gold medal," Ryu said.

    He rose to fame two years ago at the Busan Asian Games where he brushed aside Sydney Olympic champion Kong Linghui and World Cup winner Ma Lin in the men's doubles' semi-finals before overcoming Kim Taek Soo and Oh Sang Eun for the gold.

    "Due to the fact that this is the first gold medal for South Korea in table tennis since 1988, I feel very happy," he said.

    The pen-holding Ryu was off to a quick start as the fast attacker needed just two minutes to settle the first game.

    Wang then leveled claiming the second, but Ryu 's ability to win long rallies gave him the next two sets and a glimpse of the gold at 3-1.

    The fifth game went point for point and Wang saved a match point before finally taking the game 13-11.

    Though the scores in the next two games were close, Ryu remained the better part before he converted his third match pointto victory.

    "I owed my gold medal not only to hard training but also good luck. Through the games here, I found that the Chinese athletes were competing at a very high level," he said, always cutting a modest figure. "I will not be complacent about the victory."

    Exempted from the compulsory military service after winning at the Asian Games, Ryu has been concentrating on his game and he said he would keep working hard.

    "I will reflect on my matches with the Chinese and European players and keep working hard in training to enhance my performance," he said.

    "I'll try to improve myself so I can win World Championships. I hope to get some other important results, so that the sport becomes more attractive and popular," he added. Enditem