- Tears and comfort: Table Tennis women lose bronze match
The surprise in the uneven duel for Olympic bronze was absent, and Xiaona Shan emotionally broke down. Like a heap of misery, the most experienced German table tennis player at 41 years old sat crying behind the bench after a 0:3 loss to South Korea. She had to be comforted by her much younger teammates and national coach Tamara Boros for several minutes.
"As a team, we win and lose together. And when someone isn't feeling well, we try to support them and give them courage and open their eyes. We came here with a substitute team," said Olympic debutant Annett Kaufmann, with tears streaming down her own cheeks. The fourth place at the Olympics is a great success for the women's team, although "the disappointment is naturally big at the moment."
Shan was hampered by a disc injury, which was evident in her hopeless single match against Jeon Jihee (0:3). She would have liked to give more," explained Shan.
Despite this, the 2016 team silver medalist showed in the doubles that she could still perform strongly even when injured. Together with Yuan Wan, Shan brought the heavily favored Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihee to the brink of defeat after a two-set deficit, even leading 7:4 in the decisive fifth set. In the end, they lost the match 2:3.
Wan described their performance as "crazy," as they hadn't even trained together before the tournament. The German team was missing two top players. Nina Mittelham had suffered a disc injury in her second-round loss in Paris, and Ying Han couldn't travel due to an Achilles tendon rupture.
Kaufmann only made the team due to these absences. With five wins in her first five matches, the teenager even surprised the world elite, but she had an off day in her 0:3 loss to South Korean Lee Eunhye. "I didn't feel comfortable in the game and felt a certain pressure," she admitted.
German Table Tennis Association sports director Richard Prause was very satisfied with Kaufmann and the women's team, but not with the first goalless Olympics since 2004. In the past, the Germans were the ones "chasing China," but in Paris, other nations took on that role. "We will now chase them," Prause announced.
After the tough loss, Shan expressed her frustration, saying, "Despite my disc injury, I wished I could have given more in the singles match." Amidst the team's victory in the doubles, table tennis ace Shan and partner Wan showcased a remarkable performance, nearly defeating South Korea's highly favored duo.
