Germany battled past the United States to secure a quarterfinal spot in the women’s table tennis team event on Tuesday with a 3-2 win in a clash lasting over two hours and 30 minutes.
After claiming the first two matches, the higher-seeded Germans lost two singles as the Americans levelled the contest.
However in the decider, Germany’s 18-year-old Annett Kaufmann won the last two games 11-9 11-8 to beat US first-time Olympian Rachel Sung 3-1 and take her team through.
“I think we can take a lot from the match and even though it’s really disappointing and heartbreaking, it’s also just as inspiring and motivating for us,” said four-times US Olympian Lily Zhang.
China’s Ma Long made his debut in the doubles team with Wang Chuqin who beat Indian duo Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar 3-0.
“This is my first game in Paris. I need to quickly get into the right state through the first match. I think I did well today,” said Ma, who did not have a chance to play in singles on Tuesday since team contests end when a team wins three matches.
At 35, Ma has won team golds at his three previous Games and back-to-back men’s singles titles in Rio and Tokyo, becoming the most successful Olympic table tennis player of all time.
He said he loves the sport because it has accompanied him for over three decades and brought him glory and some pain.
Wang, who returned to the South Paris Arena to face his first opponent since his shock elimination by Sweden’s Truls Moregard in the singles, brushed off questions about the paddle incident that went viral on social media.
The main paddle he has been using at the Olympics got broken by excited photographers who rushed to the court to capture the moment of his win in the mixed doubles gold medal match.
Wang thanked Ma, who he called “Brother Long,” for being a good partner in helping secure their doubles win on Tuesday and said he was gradually regaining his footing after beating India’s resilient Thakkar 3-0 in the team singles match.
South Korea’s men’s team and Taiwan’s women’s team also advanced to the quarterfinals with comfortable 3-0 wins over Croatia and Australia respectively.
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Publish date : 2024-08-06 01:20:00
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