Olympics: Singapore's Yu Mengyu loses to China's world No. 1, to vie for bronze medal

Jul 29, 2021 11:24 am

Singapore paddler Yu Mengyu will be vying for the Tokyo 2020 women's singles bronze medal on Thursday night (July 29) after losing 4-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6) to China's world No. 1 Chen Meng in the morning's semi-finals.

The 47th-ranked Yu, who had reached the last four against the odds, saw her unforced errors punished by her opponent, who took the first two games in nine and 10 minutes respectively.

The Singaporean, 31, appeared to be hampered by her left thigh in the fourth game and required a medical timeout. Her mobility seemed to be affected as Chen took the match in 42 minutes.

Yu will face world No. 2 Mima Ito in the bronze medal play-off after the Japanese lost 4-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4) to China's world No. 3 Sun Yingsha in the other semi-final.

She will get a chance to win Singapore's first Olympic medal in table tennis since compatriot Feng Tianwei clinched a singles bronze and the women's team bagged a team bronze in London 2012.

Yu's performance was one of Team Singapore's highlights at the Tokyo Games, as she overcame higher-ranked opponents such as Taiwan's Cheng I-Ching (No. 8) and Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa (No. 10) to reach the last four.