Spectacular table tennis doubles action graces the final match
The German table tennis pair, Stephanie Grebe and Juliane Wolf, are all smiles after clinching a hard-fought semifinal victory. They outplayed the highly-ranked Norwegian duo, Merethe Tveiten and Aida Husic Dahlen, in a nail-biting encounter to book their spot in the gold medal match at the Paralympics. With a thrilling 3-2 victory (11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5), they displayed their grit and determination, leaving the Norwegians in their wake. The final against the Chinese pair Huang Wenjuan and Jin Yucheng, set for 8 pm, will mark the first-ever encounter between these two teams.
Meanwhile, Valentin Baus and Thomas Schmidberger also secured a medal for Germany. In a dramatic turn of events, they overcame a 0-2 deficit against China's Liu Fu and Zhai Xiang, winning 3-2 in the end (6-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10). Since there's no bronze medal match in men's doubles, Baus and Schmidberger are assured of at least a bronze medal.
Leading up to this, Baus and Schmidberger made light work of the Czech pair, Filip Nachazel and Petr Svatos, with a 3-0 victory (11-6, 11-6, 11-6) in the round of 16. Unfortunately, Baus's mixed doubles partnership with Jana Spegel ended in a defeat in their opening match.
Grebe and Wolf began their Paralympics journey on a challenging note. Grebe's main paddle failed a routine inspection, forcing her to switch to her backup. Their quarterfinal game against Morgane Caillaud and Lucie Hautiere of France was delayed as a result. Despite the hurdles, they kept their cool and clinched a 3-1 victory (11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9) in front of an boisterous crowd in the lively Arena Sud 4. However, their mixed doubles match ended in a loss later. "That was a long day. We're craving some dinner and then some sleep," Grebe remarked at the end of a grueling day.
After their successful semifinal victory, Grebe and Wolf eagerly look forward to representing Germany in the gold medal match, which will be held in the iconic city of Paris. Regardless of the outcome, the Norwegian duo will undoubtedly admire their resilience and skill, having witnessed their thrilling victory at the Paralympics.
