After competitive table tennis resumed following the pandemic, Chen swept the world cup, ITTF pro tour finals, and 2020 All China National Championships.[6]
In May, Chen was selected to represent China in the women's singles and team event at the Tokyo Olympics. Chen won the first leg of the Chinese Olympic Scrimmage but lost to Wang Manyu in the finals of the second leg.[6] Chen again lost to Wang in a closed-door scrimmage in June.[7]
In an interview in July, Chen revealed that she had been in close contact with Ma Lin and Li Xiaoxia regarding mental preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.[8]
Chen competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for the women's singles. Chen won her semi-final match against Yu Mengyu of Singapore 4–0 and her quarter-match against Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong 4–2 after trailing 2–0.[9] She then won gold in the finals match against her compatriot Sun Yingsha, defeating her 4–2.[10] After the match, Chen noted that both she and Sun were both very nervous but played okay, and that Chen's extra experience helped push her over the top.[11] Chen along with Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, competed in the women's teams final match on 5 August 2021 and scored a 3–0 victory over Japan to win the gold medal, continuing China's undefeated streak in the event.[12][13]
In August, Chen remarked that the level of play at the China National Games was harder than the Olympics.[14] Chen won fourth place at the China National Games in September, but her bronze-medal-match opponent Liu Shiwen remarked that Chen was injured and playing far below her normal level.[15]
Chen Meng and actor Huang Xiaoming are second cousins, with their paternal grandmothers are sisters. He congratulated her on Weibo right after she won the women's singles title.[16]
^Li Wenwu (18 May 2013). "黄晓明表妹止步世乒赛16强 佟大为主动请求合影". Chongqing Times (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
