By Krystal Hu
PARIS (Reuters) -Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto faced a tough fight in the table tennis team event against Taiwan at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday but ultimately helped Japan to secure a seat in the semi-finals.
The Japanese team started strongly with Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka quickly claiming the doubles match. But Taiwan player Lin Yun-Ju proved a harder opponent against Harimoto.
In a thrilling five-set singles match, the two players — rivals since their teenage years — took turns winning the first two sets. In the decisive game, Lin adopted more aggressive tactics, gaining five points in a row to defeat Harimoto 3-2.
Harimoto rebounded when he faced the experienced 43-year-old Taiwanese Chuang Chih-Yuan in the fourth match, winning three straight games and sending the Taiwanese team home with a 3-1 win.
The 21-year-old Harimoto, who went out of the singles in the quarter-finals, said he enjoyed playing in team events more.
“Rather than singles matches, I find it more enjoyable to work together as a team. I think both myself and Togami are able to play even better than in singles matches,” said Harimoto.
Earlier in the day, Germany battled past the United States to secure a quarter-final spot in the women’s team event with a 3-2 win in a clash lasting more than 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 U.S. 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 U.S. Olympian Lily Zhang.
China’s Ma Long made his Paris debut in the doubles with Wang Chuqin and they 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 as team contests end when one side 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.
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 was 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, whom he called “Brother Long,” for helping to 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.
South Korea secured two 3-0 victories in a single day. The men’s team advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Croatia, while the South Korean women triumphed over Sweden to earn a spot in the semi-finals. Taiwan’s women’s team also easily eliminated Australia and will face China on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Krystal Hu in Paris; Editing by Ken Ferris and Clare Fallon)
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