Olympics & Paralympics

Hina Hayata Overcomes Injury for Tearful Bronze Victory in Women’s Table-Tennis Singles

Miho Ikeya/The Yomiuri Shimbun
Hina Hayata takes a selfie with Chinese medalists at the women’s table-tennis award ceremony at Paris Olympics on Saturday.

Reuters

10:47 JST, August 4, 2024

History repeated itself for China’s defending champion Chen Meng when she beat teammate Sun Yingsha 4-2 to win the women’s singles table tennis gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, just as she had done at the Tokyo Games.

At a press conference, Sun praised Japan’s Hina Hayata, who earlier won the bronze medal match by beating South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin 4-2 after overcoming injury for a hard-fought victory which left her in tears.

Her performance secured Japan’s second medal in the event, following Mima Ito’s bronze in Tokyo three years ago.

Having injured her left wrist this week, Hayata could not even use a hair dryer and thought it was a mission impossible to play. After treatment, she adjusted her style to focus on using her forehand instead of backhand to avoid further pain.

“After this injury, I couldn’t use my left hand at all. Being able to play and win a bronze medal despite that situation makes me feel incredibly grateful to everyone,” said Hayata.

China’s gold and silver sweep extended their dominance in women’s singles, winning all 10 of the golds ever awarded in the event.