By Krystal Hu
PARIS (Reuters) -China’s number two seed Fan Zhendong held his ground in the last few minutes of the seventh game against Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto to secure his spot in the men’s singles semi-finals of the table tennis competition at the Paris Olympics.
He will face France’s home favourite Felix Lebrun, who prevailed in a thriller against Taiwan’s Lin Yun-Ju earlier in the day, backed by a packed stadium that included French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Seventeen-year-old Lebrun and 19-year-old Lin alternated in claiming the first six games, but Lebrun kicked off the decider game with a 7-0 lead. While Lin tried to catch up, it was too late, handing Lebrun an 11-6 victory.
Harimoto kept the Chinese fans on edge from the start by claiming the first game against Fan 11-2 and followed up with a hard-fought 11-9 win in the second. But the resilient Fan fought back, and in the seventh game, at 7-7, it seemed like it could be anyone’s match.
“When I was behind, I felt that I didn’t panic or waver, and later on, I think I managed to make some adjustments and change the rhythm,” said Fan, who will march on to defend China’s gold in the event after the surprise elimination of his teammate Wang Chuqin.
South Korea’s Shin Yubin beat Japan’s Hirano Miu 4-3 in an epic battle in the women’s singles quarter-finals, which left both players in tears.
The fourth and eighth seeds were expected to have a close match, but it was initially one-sided as Shin stormed into the lead by winning the first three games.
However, after an extensive break, Miu made a comeback, prevailing in fast long rallies to level the match at 3-3.
Shin regained her footing, and a strong forehand in the final game helped secure a 13-11 victory.
A mentally resilient Shin is now eyeing her second medal in Paris. Always wearing a sweet smile, she had already earned a bronze in mixed doubles, ending South Korea’s 12-year medal drought in table tennis.
Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, who became the first South American to reach the semi-finals in an Olympic men’s singles event, edged closer to a medal.
Calderano, 28, dominated South Korea’s Jang Woo-jin from the onset, finishing with a 4-0 victory within half an hour and impressing the crowd with his powerful forehand topspin.
“It’s an even bigger feat that I’m the first outside of Asia or Europe,” said Calderano. “It’s really nice to represent a whole continent. At the same time, I want so much more,” added Calderano, whose girlfriend, compatriot Bruna Takahashi, who reached the round of 32 in singles, cheered him on.
China’s defending women’s champion Chen Meng and top seed Sun Yingsha enjoyed straightforward victories, marching into the semi-finals and shortening the odds on a final between the two Chinese players.
(Reporting by Krystal Hu in Paris; Editing by Ken Ferris and Hugh Lawson)
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