Fan Zhendong survives stern Olympic table tennis quarterfinal test

In the men's table tennis solo quarterfinals at the Olympics, Fan Zhendong of China battled hard on Thursday, losing the opening two sets before defeating Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto 4-3 in a thrilling seven-set match.

The 21-year-old Japanese started strongly, leading 2-0 and then 3-2, while the second-seeded Chinese fought back fiercely to force a decider. After tying 7-7 in the final set, Fan scored four straight points, wrapping up the match 2-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7, 11-7 at the South Paris Arena 4.

Fan will next play hosts France's 17-year-old Felix Lebrun on Friday for a spot in the men's singles final.

In the women's part, Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng, the top and second seeds in the women's singles event, both triumphed over their opponents with straight-set victories to reach the semifinals.

Sun, a 23-year-old, who took gold in the mixed doubles at Paris 2024 with her partner Wang Chuqin, trounced 32-year-old Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei 11-7, 11-4, 19-17, 11-5.

The third set of the match lasted 23 minutes before Sun secured the win. "To be able to take that third set was very crucial in winning this match," said Sun, who also won the women's team gold and singles silver at Tokyo 2020.

Sun will next play 24-year-old Hina Hayata of Japan on Friday in the semifinals. "Now I'm in the semifinals, I have built up some tournament momentum. Hopefully, I'll be able to enjoy the rest of the event and not leave any regrets," said Sun.

Earlier on Thursday, Sun's compatriot Chen Meng rallied to beat 29-year-old Sofia Polcanova from Austria 11-5, 11-3, 11-0, 11-8 to make the semis, where the second seed will face 20-year-old Shin Yu-bin of South Korea.

Related News:

Olympics Pic | Athletes of day four at Paris 2024 Olympics

Journalist's view | Behind the Lens: Chaotic media war at Olympics hurts 'innocents'