Dang Qiu breaks in and dies against his fearful opponent
Table tennis European champion Dang Qiu crashes out in the second round of the Olympic Games in Paris. Dang leads the match 3:1 in sets, but then loses three consecutive games to the valiantly fighting Gerassimenko.
Dang Qiu's second-round exit in the Olympic singles tournament in Paris has caused some initial disappointment in the German table tennis camp. The seventh-seeded Dusseldorfer missed out on the round of 16 after a closely fought high-speed duel with Kirill Gerassimenko, a Kasachstani Bundesliga star from Werder Bremen, losing 3:4 despite leading 3:1. "Of course, it hurts a lot right now. It's very bitter," said Dang. "It was a match on equal terms. Every set was hard-fought and it was a knife-edge game." He admitted that he had "deserved to lose" in the end.
For the Olympic newcomer, the individual competitions on the Seine are now over after his first-round exit in the mixed doubles with Nina Mittelham. Despite being two points away from victory in the sixth set against his bogey opponent Gerassimenko, Dang crumbled afterwards. "I could have also won 4:2, but I lost concentration briefly after 3:1, which shouldn't happen, and made two wrong mini-decisions later. But Kirill also brought many balls to the table and wore me down," the world number 11 analyzed his unnecessary exit.
Before the team competition next week, the penholder ace wants to "draw player and mental conclusions. Then it could have been a valuable experience." Even national coach Jörg Rosskopf was frustrated by the missed opportunity: "I had the feeling that it could continue to go well at 3:1. But then somehow, a final blow was always missing."
Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the twice Olympic bronze medalist, is the second and last DTTB ace in the men's singles. The 35-year-old plays against unseeded Brazilian Vitor Ichiy on Tuesday (10 am) for a place in the round of 16. Through Qiu's fifth defeat in the sixth meeting with his contemporary opponent, the DTTB squad only celebrated one success on Monday through Mittelham. The European Championship runner-up won her opening singles against Australian Minhyung Jee 4:0 and thus became the only German to reach the second round.
Despite Dang Qiu's early exit in the singles tournament, Paris still hosts another opportunity for a German table tennis champion. Dimitrij Ovtcharov, seeking his third Olympic bronze medal, will face unseeded Brazilian Vitor Ichiy in Paris, aiming for a place in the round of 16.
