History repeated itself yesterday, as Taiwan’s Chuang Chih-yuan again lost an all-important table tennis match to Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, ending the Taiwanese men’s Olympic run, as they only won two of their five matches in the team quarter-finals.
Nine years ago in London, Chuang lost to Ovtcharov in a six-game heartbreaker in the final game of the men’s singles bronze-medal decider.
Yesterday, the 40-year-old veteran was again defeated by the German, losing 8-11, 9-11, 7-11 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym.
Photo: AP
Commenting on yet another loss to Ovtcharov, Chuang praised his opponent for his tenacity.
He also said that his fifth and probably last Olympic appearance went okay, but there is always room for improvement.
The only bright spot for Taiwan is 19-year-old sensation Lin Yun-ju, who beat Ovtcharov 3-2 in one of his two singles matches.
Photo: AFP
Team coach Chiang Peng-lung praised Lin for yet another outstanding performance at his first Olympics and said the team had done its best.
In Taiwan’s first match yesterday, Chuang and Chen Chien-an lost 0-11, 6-11, 6-11, 10-12 to Patrick Ranziska and Timo Boll of Germany.
Lin then won two singles matches against Ovtcharov and Ranziska, while Chen lost one to Boll before Chuang lost the final match to his old rival.
Yesterday’s loss marked the end of Taiwan’s participation in table tennis at the Tokyo Olympics. They leave with one bronze medal, won by Lin and Cheng I-ching in the mixed doubles.
The Taiwanese men’s and women’s teams finished fifth in Tokyo, the best showing for both squads at the Olympics.
Germany’s men are to go head-to-head today with hosts Japan, who defeated them in the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“We lost to Japan five years ago in Rio, and we want to make it better this time,” Ovtcharov said.
“For Japan, it’s the most important match in their home Olympics. We’re also a little bit happy that the hall is not completely full,” Boll joked.
“But yeah, we will prepare like we always did, we give it our best and try everything,” he added.
In the 110m hurdles, Taiwan’s Chen Kuei-ru gave his best performance this season, finishing fifth in his first-round heat to qualify for the semi-final, which is being run tomorrow.
In the individual qualifier for equestrian jumping, Taiwan’s Jasmine Chen placed 47th. She did not progress to the final, as she was not in the top 30.
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins. United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
Italian soccer is at its lowest ebb in nearly 40 years after a wholesale European exodus at club level followed the nation’s failure for the third successive time to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and compounded a leadership and structural crisis. The exits suffered by Bologna and ACF Fiorentina on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League respectively meant no Italian teams are left in European competition this season. Italy’s last remaining UEFA Champions League contenders, Atalanta BC, went out in the round of 16 last month. It is the first time since the 1986-1987 campaign that Italian clubs
RSS