Table tennis: Singapore's Yu Mengyu misses out on Olympics bronze, losing to Japan's Mima Ito

TOKYO — Yu Mingyu's quest for an Olympic medal in the table tennis women's singles event ended on Thursday (Jul 29) evening, after the Singaporean went down to Japan's Mima Ito in the bronze medal match.

The two faced off at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Thursday night, having lost their respective semi-final matches earlier in the day to Chinese opponents.

Yu came out strong, taking the first game. The two traded points in the second but it was the Japanese player who would level it at one game apiece.

The third-seeded Ito carried that momentum through to the third and fourth games and Yu was staring at a 1-3 deficit.

In her semi-finals match earlier in the day against Chinese top seed Chen Meng, Yu needed prolonged treatment on her left thigh towards the end of her straight-games defeat.

Yu showed little sign of any discomfort in the evening match but was simply unable to match the guile of her 20-year-old opponent, who dazzled with her shot-making.

Ito would take the deciding game 11-6 for an overall 4-1 victory.

Ito's bronze medal adds to the gold she won on Monday when she and partner Jun Mizutani stunned the Chinese pair of Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen in the mixed doubles, an event played for the first time at the Olympics.

Yu will next compete in the women's team event on Monday, when Singapore plays France in the round of 16. CNA

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