Table Tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games:

The defending champion, Deng Yaping, was World Champion in 1991 and 1995, and was favored. Also back was the 1988 gold medalist, Chen Jing, but she was now representing Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). They were joined by 1992 silver medalist and 1989 World Champion, Qiao Hong, and the 1987 World Champion, Chire Koyama of Japan. Koyama had won her world title competing for China as He Zhili. The final in Atlanta came down to the last two gold medalists, Deng against Chen. Known as Chinese Taipei in the Olympic Movement, the IOC had brokered a deal in 1980 with the Republic of China, in which they could compete but not under the Taiwanese flag. Instead they used a special flag with the Olympic Symbol on it. But in the audience during the final, a spectator unfurled the actual Taiwanese flag. Police were called to remove the fan and the flag, as IOC rules forbid the display of any flags of non-competing nations by spectators. The final was extremely close for four games, but Deng crushed Chen in the fifth game, 21-5, to repeat as gold medalist.