Hina Hayata will fly the flag as Japan's last remaining medal contender in the table tennis singles at the Paris Olympics after compatriots Tomokazu Harimoto and Miu Hirano were eliminated in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Third-seeded Hayata defeated her women's singles opponent Byun Sung-kyung of North Korea 4-3 at South Paris Arena, setting up a semi-final showdown with top-seeded China's Sun Yingsha.
Japan's Hina Hayata is photographed during her match against North Korea's Byun Sung-kyung in the women's singles quarterfinals of the Paris Olympic table tennis competition held at the South Paris Arena in Paris on August 1, 2024. (Kyodo News)
Harimoto, Hayata's mixed doubles partner, lost to Chinese men's world champion Fan Zhendong in seven matches, while Hirano also lost to South Korea's Shin Yubin, her opponent in the women's best eight. They lost in 7 games.
The 24-year-old Hayata took control from the start, taking a 2-0 lead and then a 3-1 lead with Byon. However, North Korea shook off the fifth and sixth innings, and the close battle turned into a decisive game, where Hayata regained momentum and won 11-6.
Japan's Hina Hayata is photographed during the women's singles quarterfinals of the Paris Olympic table tennis competition held at the South Paris Arena in Paris on August 1, 2024. (Kyodo News)
Japan's Hina Hayata celebrates after defeating North Korea's Byun Sung-kyung in the women's singles quarterfinals of the Paris Olympic table tennis competition held at the South Paris Arena in Paris on August 1, 2024 (Kyodo News)
“It was a difficult match, but I thought we wouldn't lose if we stayed calm,'' Hayata said. “I just did what I had to do.”
Harimoto, 21, was up 2-0 against the fans and had victory in sight when the Tokyo Games silver medalist stormed back to tie the score at 2-2.
Harimoto was one game away from advancing to the semi-finals with three wins and two losses, but China's second seed was challenged again and won the seventh game 11-7.
Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto will face China's Fan Zhendong in the men's table tennis singles quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics on August 1, 2024 at the South Paris Arena in Paris (Kyodo News) ==Kyodo News
Harimoto, the sixth seed, said, “I gave up everything and did everything I could.'' “Even though I didn't win, I'm satisfied. In the last two matches, I could see the quality of Fan Zhendong. He had a slight advantage over me.”
Hirano has only lost one game in his past three matches, but looked like he would be eliminated when he lost 3-0 to 20-year-old Shin, the fourth seed.
Japan's Miu Hirano (front) reacts after losing to South Korea's Shin Yu-bin in the women's table tennis singles quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics, at the South Paris Arena in Paris on August 1, 2024. Kyodo News
However, Hirano, the 8th seed, showed great fortitude and fought evenly in each of his three matches, but was unable to convert his two match points and lost the deciding match 13-11.
The 24-year-old Hirano said, “I have no regrets, but I wasn't strong enough to win a medal. I'll just do my best in the team competition (at the Olympics).''
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