Accepting the challenge with open arms Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC emerged the man of the moment on Tuesday 27th July at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In the fourth round of the men’s singles event he caused a major upset.  On debut in the prestigious multi-sport event the no.18 seed he accounted for the host nation’s Tomokazu HARIMOTO the no.3 seed (10-12 11-9 11-3 10-12 8-11 11-7 11-7) a player tipped as a medal candidate. Outstanding form and the end of the road for a host nation player it was the same later in the day. Showing not a hint of charity Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV the no.7 seed halted the aspirations of Koki Niwa the no.12 seed (11-4 7-11 11-0 11-7 11-9). Success for Germany but there was defeat. Timo BOLL the no.8 seed was beaten Jeoung Youngsik the no.10 seed (11-8 7-11 11-7 11-9 11-4). The success for the young man from the Korea Republic being achieved after by the very narrowest of margins in round three he had overcome Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece the no.35 seed (7-11 11-7 8-11 10-12 12-10 11-6 14-12). A fourth round exit for Timo BOLL it was the same for Portugal’s Marcos Freitas. The no.16 seed he was beaten by China’s FAN Zhendong the top seed (11-6 11-6 11-2 5-11 11-3). Similarly for Frenchman Simon GAUZY; his ambitions were halted by the redoubtable MA Long the no.2 seed (11-6 9-11 11-4 11-7 11-5). Men’s Singles: Quarter-Finals 11.00 Fan Zhendong (CHN) v Jeoung Youngsik (KOR)  16.00 Darko Jorgic (SLO) v Lin Yun-Ju (TPE) 21.00 Hugo Calderano (BRA) v Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER) 20.00 Ma Long (CHN) v Omar Assar (EGY)   Meanwhile in the women’s singles event Germany’s Han Ying the no.12 seed kept the European flag flying.  In round three she ousted Australia’s JIAN Fang Lay the no.58 seed (11-9 11-9 11-7 11-8) before halting the aspirations of Singapore’s FENG Tianwei the no.6 seed (13-11 11-7 11-9 8-11 11-8) a player she has now beaten in all five international engagements. Otherwise for the old continent in the women’s singles fourth round it was farewell. Britt EERLAND of the Netherlands the no.16 seed was beaten by Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem the no.8 seed (11-13 11-5 11-8 11-9 11-8). Likewise Austria departed the arena. Sofia POLCANOVA the no.10 seed lost to Japan’s Kasumi ISHIKAWA the no.5 seed (11-8 11-8 12-10 11-9) LIU Jia the no.55 seed who in round three had beaten Puerto Rico’s Adriana DIAZ the no.9 seed (11-9 11-4 11-9 11-9) departed at the hands of Korea Republic’s JEON Jihee the no.7 seed (11-1 10-12 11-3 11-3 11-4). Women’s Singles: Quarter-Finals 12.00 Chen Meng (CHN) v Doo Hoi Kem (HKG)  10.00 Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN) v Yu Mengyu (SGP) 15.00 Mima Ito (JPN) v Jeon Jihee (KOR) 17.00 Han Ying (GER) v Sun Yingsha (CHN)   The semi-finals of both the men’s singles and women’s singles events will be played on Thursday 29th July; in addition the women’s singles medal matches will be completed.  One day later on Friday 30th July the men’s singles medal contests will be staged.   

Darko JORGIC of Slovenia and Dimitrij OVTCHAROV of Germany thwarted Japan’s plans for medals in the Men’s Singles Event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. Two Europeans reached the quarterfinal of the event in fantastic style. In the Women’s Singles Event it is HAN Ying of Germany to keep the European flag high in Tokyo. Darko JORGIC eliminated Tomokazu HARIMOTO of Japan in the Round of 16. He reached the quarterfinal after grueling seven games thriller 4:3 (10:12 11:9 11:3 10:12 8:11 11:7 11:7). “It’s just an amazing feeling for me to beat Harimoto in his own country and be in the quarter-final. I prepared well with my coach I was strong mentally today and didn’t show any signs of nerves. I was fighting for every point and this was my goal. If you play top 10 players then you have to be aggressive if you play safe then they will punish you. I don’t think he was expecting this from me today it’s just amazing!” said Darko JORGIC. On his second exit to the table today Germany’s Dimitrij OVTCHAROV beat Koki NIWA in five games 4:1 (11:4 7:11 11:0 11:7 11:9). Previously OVTCHAROV demonstrated an imperious form as he swept past Kirill SKACHKOV from Russian Olympic Committee 4:0 (13:11 11:3 13:11 11:4) to book his place in the Men’s Singles round of 16. In the morning session HAN Ying of Germany showed no mercy and defeated 48-year-old LAY Jian Fang of Australia 4:0 (11:9 11:9 11:7 11:8) before she beat Singapore’s FENG Tianwei (11:13 7:11 9:11 1:8 8:11) to secure her place in the quarterfinal. In the Third Round Dane Jonathan GROTH suffered by the hands of to Simon GAUZY of France 4-0 (12:10 11:9 11:9 11:5). “I had to wait for a while for this match. I was nervous especially day earlier when it become clear I will play against GROTH. The straight games win does not predict how close the match was. 10 9 9…speaks more about it ” said GAUZY. “I do not think he was very happy to see me in his part of the draw. I beat him in 5 previous occasions. Today he had big problem with my service and that made my victory easier. “ The celebration did not last long as in the Round of 16 GAUZY met MA Long of China 4:1 (11:6 9:11 11:4 11:7 11:5) In the Round of 16 number eight seed Timo BOLL lost out to Korea Republic’s JEOUNG Youngsik across five games (11-8 7-11 11-7 11-9 11-4). BOLL’s defeat sees him fall at the round of 16 hurdle yet again having done so in 2008 2012 and 2016! No. 10 seed JEOUNG played smartly halted Timo BOLL’s serves and often sought to gain points with BOLL’s deep backhand followed by a ball in the wide forehand. “I actually thought I would get in quite well. But somehow he found his rhythm against my balls. It was like I am playing against the wall ” BOLL was surprised.” He played almost flawlessly and got into the match well. He simply found an answer to everything.” In Women’s Singles Round three Britt EERLAND of Netherlands overcame Dina MESHREF of Egypt 4:3 (9:11 3:11 7:11 11:6 11:5 11:8 11:7). “I did not start very well. Dina is the one who had much more variations in her rhythm but I kept my confidence high. Eventually I managed to adjust to the game to the venue… I did not want to lose like that. I wanted to show my game. Even if I had to lose I wanted to know that I gave my best. I kept on fighting and at the end it was good enough ” explained EERLAND. In the next round EERLAND suffered by the hands of DOO Hoi Kem of Hong Kong 4:1 (11:13 11:5 11:8 11:9 11:8). In the Round three LIU Jia of Austria proved too strong for Adriana DIAZ of Puerto Rico 4:0 (11:9 11:4 11:9 11:9) but in the next she lost to JEON Jihee of Korea 4:1 (11:1 10:12 11:3 11:3 11:4).

Fourth place just one step short of a medal such was the outcome for the French pairing of Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jia Nan in the mixed doubles event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on the evening of Monday . In the bronze medal contest the no.8 seeds they were beaten by Chinese Taipei’s LIN Yun-Ju and CHENG I-Ching the no.3 seeds (11-8 11-7 11-8 11-5). Gold finished in the hands of the host nation’s Jun MIZUTANI and Mima ITO. The no.2 seeds they recovered from a two games to nil deficit to beat China’s XU Xin and LIU Shiwen the top seeds and hot favourites (5-11 7-11 11-8 11-9 11-9 6-11 11-6). Sensationally in the seventh game the Japanese duo raced into an 8-0 lead. It is the first ever gold medal won by Japan in the table tennis events at an Olympic Games. Disappointment for Europe but there was notable success Russia’s Kirill SKACHKOV setting tone. In the second round of the men’s singles event he upset the odds; The no.37 seed he accounted for Kanak Jha of the United States the no.21 seed (11-9 9-11 11-9 0-11 11-7 11-4). Good form from Kirill SKACHKOV it was the same from Slovenia’s Bojan TOKIC. The no.40 seed now 40 years old he raised the eyebrows. He overcame Croatia’s 25 years of age Tomislav PUCAR the no.23 seed (11-9 11-8 11-9 12-10). Progress for Kirill SKACHKOV and Bojan TOKIC likewise Slovakia’s WANG Yang and Jonathan GROTH progressed but there was no such success for Portugal’s Tiago APOLONIA or Ukraine’s KOU Lei. Both bid farewell in round two. Paul DRINKHALL the no.36 seed he lost to Korea Republic’s JANG Woojin the no.9 seed (7-11 12-10 11-8 11-8 11-7). Meanwhile in the women’s singles event Austria’s Liu Jia the no.55 seed upset the seeding. She accounted for Russia’s Polina Mikhailova the no.27 seed (8-11 7-11 11-8 11-5 11-6 8-11 11-5). Alas for Europe Poland’s LI Qian the no.28 seed lost to Australia’s JIAN Fang Lay the no.58 seed (11-7 11-6 5-11 12-10 11-4 11-4) Slovakia’s Barbora BALAZOVA the no.31 seed was beaten by LIU Juan of the United States the no.68 seed (11-9 11-6 11-9 11-7). Meanwhile Canada’s ZHANG Mo the no.21 seed caused the old continent more heartache. She overcame Germany’s Petrissa SOLJA the no.11 seed (11-7 11-5 9-11 11-6 6-11 8-11 11-3). Similarly Thailand’s SUTHASINI Sawettabut the no.22 seed ousted Romania’s Elizabeta SAMARA the no.15 seed (11-7 11-6 4-11 11-8 11-2) the 2015 European champion. Also in round three China’s CHEN Meng the top seed made a most emphatic start to her campaign she beat Switzerland’s Rachel MORET the no.48 seed in straight games (11-3 11-6 11-2 11-7). Plays continues in both the men’s singles and women’s singles events on Tuesday 27th July; at the end of the day the quarter-finalists in both disciplines will be known.

Some of the top 16 seeds in the Singles Event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic tournament already felt the heat of the action in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium today on the third day of play. In Round three Timo BOLL of Germany no. 8 seed and Marcos Freitas of Portugal no. 16 seed booked their places in Round of 16. Liam PITCHFORD of GB seeded no. 11 also commenced his journey today but it was Darko JORGIC who beat the odds and progressed forward after 4:2 victory. In Women’s Singles Event no. 10 seed Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria justified her status and sealed her Olympic premiere in Japan with the straight games victory over Manika BATRA of India. Marcos FREITAS of Portugal overcame Daniel HABESOHN 4:3 (11:7 3:11 11:7 11:6 11:13 2:11 11:3). “It us never easy to play the first match at the tournament. In addition I played against someone I know very well and he knows me. We have been practicing together in in Vienna in SCHLAGER Academy for a few years ” explained FREITAS.” I had a good start by making a 3:1 gap and I had 7:3 moved forward to three match points. Then I failed to seal the match and HABESOHN pushed to the decisive game. Then it become very difficult to keep the focus to stay in the match mentally.” Timo BOLL of Germany prevailed against Kirill GERASSIMENKO of Kazakhstan 4:1 (7:11 11:6 11:7 11:2 11:1) “In every tournament at the beginning I am little nervous. I am searching for the right touch at the ball. The Olympics are not exception to the rule it is even harder. GERASSIMENKO took advantage of already playing one match at the tournament. He played stronger in the opening stage of the encounter. I am happy that I managed to change the course of the duel in the second game when he was also in a good swing. This is our duty as professionals to find the solution when you have a problem; to believe in yourself and to rebuild the confidence even when you are not playing so well ” explained BOLL. BOLL did the job perfectly for sure last two games ended 11:2 11:1. “I played more focused on each point not giving Kirill any easy one. I hit some difficult points the rhythm was much better and added more spin to the service. It had a better length. Overall it become not perfect but very good match ” concluded BOLL. Darko JORGIC beat Liam PITCHFORD 4:2 (11:8 7:11 12:10 11:13 11:9 12:10). “You could feel that it is Liam’s first match at the Event and that I was there already for one. There were a lot of short points;I played tactically very well. I changed the pace and the position of the service and did everything could help me won the match. In addition I had a little luck in few crucial points ut that is the sport…” said JORGIC. Sofia POLCANOVA of Austria beat Manika BATRA of India in straight games to reach the Round of 16 4-0 (11:8 11:2 11:5 11:7). “I am very happy about my win today. I knew how to play against her but still it was tough in the beginning. After I felt more confident with every set that I won and could play my game. She has a different style of play from everybody here so I had to adjust. I am happy that in the end it worked so well ” explained POLCANOVA.

A semi-final defeat but following the close of play on Sunday 25th July at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. medal hopes remain alive for the French combination of Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jianan. In the penultimate round the no.8 seeds they were beaten by China’s XU Xin and LIU Shiwen the top seeds (11-5 11-6 13-11 11-7) having earlier in the day prevailed in nail-biting seven games duel against Hong Kong’s WONG Chun Ting and DOO Hoi Kem the no.4 seeds (11-3 6-11 7-11 11-8 9-11 11-7 13-11). They now meet Chinese Taipei LIN Yun-Ju and CHENG I-Ching the no.3 seeds in the bronze medal contest; XU Xin and LIU Shiwen face Japan’s Jun MIZUTANI and Mima ITO the no.2 seeds in the final. Jun MIZUTANI and Mima ITO booked their place in the final courtesy of success in opposition to Chinese Taipei’s LIN Yun-Ju and CHENG I-Ching the no.3 seeds (11-9 6-11 11-9 11-6 11-6) after having recorded a dramatic full distance quarter-final success in opposition to Germany’s Patrick FRANZISKA and Petrissa SOLJA the no.7 seeds (11-8 5-11 3-11 11-3 9-11 11-8 16-14). Meanwhile in the second round of the men’s singles event Great Britain’s Paul Drinkhall was the man in form. He upset the order the no.36 seed he beat Austria’s Robert GARDOS no.17 seed and highest ranked player in round two (13-11 6-11 11-4 12-10 11-6). It was the first time on the international stage when Paul DRINKHALL had beaten Robert Gardos he had lost the previous four. Hard fought success for Paul DRINKHALL it was the same from Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC the no.18 seed. He overcame Spain’s Alvaro ROBLES the no.42 seed (11-2 12-10 5-11 9-11 5-11 15-13 11-8). Progress to round three likewise places were booked by Emmanuel LEBESSON Austria’s Daniel HABESOHN Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece and Sweden’s Anton KÄLLBERG. In the second round Emmanuel LEBESSON the no.27 seed beat Croatia’s Andrej Gacina the no.33 seed (11-6 11-8 12-10 13-11) Daniel HABESOHN the no.32 seed accounted for Singapore’s Clarence CHEW the no.57 seed (11-7 11-9 11-8 6-11 12-10). Similarly Panagiotis GIONIS the no.31 seed defeated Egypt’s Ahmed Ali Saleh the no.35 seed (13-11 11-7 9-11 11-3 11-6) Anton KÄLLBERG the no.29 seed ended the hopes of Nikhil KUMAR of the United States the no.55 seed (11-7 11-5 11-6 11-5). Alas for Romania’s Ovidiu IONESCU there was no progress; the no.47 seed he was beaten by Brazil’s Gustavo TSUBOI the no.25 seed 911-6 9-11 13-11 11-9 11-9). Meanwhile in the second round of the women’s singles event the European players to attract the attention were YUAN Jianan and Switzerland’s Rachel MORET. YUAN Jianan the no.46 seed ended the hopes of Brazil’s Bruna TAKAHASHI the no.23 seed Rachel MORET the no.48 seed accounted for Hungary’s Georgina POTA the no.30 seed (11-9 14-12 11-7 7-11 11-9). A second round departure for Georgina POTA it was the same for Poland’s Natalia PARTYKA Portugal’s SHAO Jieni and Luxembourg’s NI Xia Lian alongside Ukraine’s Margaryta PESOTSKA and the Czech Republic’s Hana MATELOVA. The second round in both the men’s singles and women’s singles events will be completed on Monday 26th July the date on which in each discipline the third round will commence. Additionally the gold and bronze mixed doubles matches will be played.

On the second day of play at the table tennis tournament in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium the Round two in Singles was on the agenda. Daniel HABESOHN of Austria no 32 seed beat CHEW Zhe Yu Clarence of Singapore 4:1 (11:7 11:9 11:8 6:11 12:10) to book his place in the Third round. “I am very happy with my performance in the opening match for me. I handled the stress very well. There is always an extra pressure and danger in first matches. The adversary is much better then his rankings predicts. When you play against the Asian players the rankings are not most reliable indicators of adversaries quality and real level. Also they have an advantage of months of preparations on Asian soil. They are also very focused. CHEW improved his level in past year very much ” said HABESOHN. CHEW has a very strong service game but HABESOHN managed to nullified it. “That was the key to my success my return worked fine. I was well prepared for the duel. I did not make any easy mistake from the receive and on my service game I forced him to open. I played with lot of speed he never knew from where the ball will come and that was very good performance ” added Daniel. In the next Round HABESOHN will meet Marcos FREITAS of Portugal no. 16 seed. “Now is time for relaxing watching videos and searching for the right tactics for FREITAS.” In the same round Emmanuel LEBESSSON of France overcame Andrej GACINA of Croatia in straight games (11:6 11:8 12:10 13:11). Panagiotis GIONIS of Greece added another victory to his record. He beat Ahmet SALEH of Egypt 4:1 (13:11 11:7 9:11 11:3 11:6). Swede Anton KALLBERG overcame Nikhil KUMAR from USA 4:0 (11:7 11:5 11:6 11:5). The list of success for Europeans goes on with Darko JORGIC of Slovenia who went through seven long games before he beat Alvaro ROBLES of Spain 4:3 (11:2 12:10 5:11 9:11 5:11 15:13 11:8). “I had a magnificent start. I made a quick 2:0 lead and I moved very well. On the other side ROBLES kept on looking for his rhythm and eventually he found it. He started to play better and safer. I could made to 3:1 but failed to come forward with 2:1 and 7:4. After 2:3 I had to change the tactics and start playing on longer rallies. I recovered to level and at 8:3 in seventh game finally I was calm and my head was at the right place so I played safely point by point. It paid out and I am among top 32!” said JORGIC. Paul DRINKHALL GBR overcame Robert GARDOS of Austria 4:1 (13:11 6:11 11:4 12:10 11:6). “Today’s match was a very hard one a lot of tactical changes but i felt i moved very well and was able to be the more aggressive player ” said DRINKHALL. SPAIN’S Maria XIAO was in charge of one of the biggest upsets. She eliminated seed no. 17 SOO Wai Yam Minnie of Hong Kong 4:2 (7:11 11:6 11:8 11:8 8:11 11:9). Rachel MORET of Switzerland beat Georgina POTA of Hungary 4:1 (11:9 14:12 11:7 7:11 11:9) and YUAN Jia Nan of France beat no 23 seed Bruna TAKAHASHI of Brazil 4:0 (11:8 11:7 11:6 11:8).

France’s Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jia Nan are one step away from the medal at the Olympics. In the quarterfinal they were stretched to full distance but eventually prevailed in a hard-fought 4-3 (11-3 6-11 7-11 11-8 9-11 11-7 13-11) victory over WONG Chun Ting and DOO Hoi Kem from Hong Kong China. The seven-game thriller lasted over an hour with both sides delicately poised to advance to the semi-final as the advantage swung either way through the first six games. “It was an amazing game and we got some lucky breaks. But we also fought hard for each point. It’s nice to have Jean-Philippe GATIEN Sports Director of Paris 2024 in the stands and watching us today. It shows that table tennis is important and we’ll now try to win at least a medal in the sport ” said LEBESSON. Petrissa SOLJA and Patrick FRANZISKA experienced moments that every athlete would like to avoid; despite having seven match points against the Japanese duo Mima ITO and Jun MIZUTANI they lost their semi-finals. There was great disappointment in the German team after the Mixed Doubles match. Understandably because the German pairings delivered a brilliant performance against the highly favored Japanese Mima ITO and Jun MIZUTANI. A nervous start in game one was followed by two convincing runs by the Germans before the Japanese equalized again. “We played great and also felt that we had them under control especially at the end. They were almost defeated but we did not took our chance ”analyzed Patrick FRANZISKA. A close 11:9 brought the German pairings back into the lead 3:2 but the Japanese were able to equalize again. In game seven SOLJA and FRANZIKA already looked like the sure winner: 5:0 9:2 and 10:6 in the extension three more match points followed. In the end however it was Mima ITO who turned the second match point of the Japanese to 16:14 with a long service. The men’s national coach Jörg ROSSKOKOPF was also disappointed: “That was a huge opportunity today. In the 7th game they had a great start and with the match balls we also had the opportunity to win the game. These weren’t impossible balls. They both played great against the Japanese but in the end ITO and MIZUTANI kept fighting.” Petrissa SOLJA also struggled with the missed opportunities:“ You think about what you could have played differently in the end. In retrospect however you are always smarter. We may have reacted a little worse then I get annoyed by the mistakes I made. We led so high in the end that’s the saddest thing for me. ” Even if they can certainly be proud of their performance the disappointment over such a bitter defeat at the Olympics is huge. “It was a long way to get here we prepared for this tournament and this moment and in the end we might miss the chance to win a medal. It really hurts that this long journey here in Tokyo comes to an end ”said SOLJA. The Romanian duo of Ovidiu IONESCU and Bernadette SZOCS lost to XU Xin and LIU Shiwen from China 4-0 in their 30-minute Mixed Doubles quarter-final encounter. The top-seeded Chinese took the early initiative winning the first game 11-6 in just six minutes. The second game ended even earlier as Xu and Liu enjoyed an 11-1 victory in five minutes. The Chinese pair won the third game comfortably 11-6 before sealing their passage into the semi-final with a 12-10 victory over the ninth seed Romanians in the fourth and final game. “We take each match as they come but our form is getting better each day too. We were feeling quite nervous before the match but calmed down once we won our first game against the Romanians ” said XU. Lin Yun Ju / Cheng I Ching TPE – Lee Sangsu / Jeon Jihee KOR 4: 2 (-7.4 -7.7.8.7) Patrick Franziska / Petrissa Solja – Jun Mizutani / Mima Ito JPN 3: 4 (-8 5 3 -3 9 -8 -14) Xu Xin / Liu Shiwen CHN – Ovidiu Ionescu / Bernadette Szocs ROU 4: 0 (6 1 6 10) Emmanuel Lebesson / Yuan Jia Nan FRA – WONG Chun Ting and DOO Hoi Kem 4-3 (3 – 6 -7 8 -9 7 11)