Jian Fang Lay has experience. She has patience. Now she has Australia’s sole singles table tennis hopes too as she is the only contender of four to progress through to the second round of 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
TABLE TENNIS: Jian Fang Lay has experience. She has patience. Now she has Australia’s sole singles table tennis hopes too as she is the only contender of four to progress through to the second round of 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
In her fifth Games appearance, Lay remained calm under pressure and a rousing Brazilian crowd to beat her opponent, Russian Maria Dolgikh in a marathon seven set match 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5.
Lay said the key to overcoming a competitive Dolgikh was patience.
"The best attack is to be patient," she said, laughing. "She didn't like my choppy game."
Lay started strong claiming the first two sets without much trouble, but the third set was a different story. After leading 3-1 early on, Lay was soon overrun by Dolgikh and the boisterous Brazilian supporters who were cheering for the game on the adjoining table between Spaniard Gloria Dvorak and local favourite Lin Gui.
"Sometimes you can’t concentrate because the crowd for the Brazil player was loud... but I have to concentrate otherwise it’s so scary to lose the match. It was a very exciting first match."
Although Lay has played in four Olympic Games previously, she said she still felt nervous out on the court. Not for the crowd or pressure, but her own control of the match.
"In the final set at the beginning I was still a little bit afraid because I want to win in this match, and when I want to play I feel the muscles and movement feels a little bit wrong but I tell myself to calm down, to concentrate, do the normal thing," she said.
She'll call on that trust later today (Saturday 6 August) when she faces Austrian Sofia Polcanova who has a world ranking of 55.
Earlier in the session Melissa Tapper put up a strong fight but couldn’t overcome Caroline Kumahara of Brazil in the preliminary round, sticking with Kumahara, winning a set each, and forced the Brazilian into a sixth set but the home-town favourite clinched the win 4-2.
Opening Day 1 of competition, it was a tough draw against Kumahara who has a world ranking of 120, about 200 higher than Tapper.
Making history today as the first Australian to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tapper was determined to put up a fight against her Brazilian opponent.
“Towards the end I started to find a little bit of my own momentum but I was too slow to start,” Tapper said.
“It’s a good show for me that I can compete at that higher level.”
Kumahara was clearly the crowd favourite, with loud and proud cheers from the stands as they pair battled on centre court 1.
After going down in the first set 4-11, Tapper fought back to claim the second 11-8.
She showed some sharp moves in the third set but lost that and the fourth to Kumahara. In the sixth Tapper staved off the first match point but succumbed at 8-11.
“It wasn’t my best performance but I played the best that I could in that moment,” Tapper said.
“Given the circumstances and everything that is happening around I’m quite happy with the 4-2 loss.
“I think I put up a good fight. It was quite exciting actually trying to almost win over a crowd in a sense myself. When you play some good table tennis they cheer for anything that’s great.”
Tapper will compete in the women’s team event on Day 6 (Friday, 12 August) when Australia face Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The men also fared unfavorably with Dave Powell going out in straight sets agains Marcelo Aguirre of Paraguay (11-13, 7-11, 12-14, 9-11) and Chris Yan took two sets off Aleksandar Karakesevic (Russia) but still succumbed 4-6 (8-11, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 3-11).
Candice Keller
olympics.com.au
