Table tennis: Singapore paddler Yu Mengyu one win away from claiming an Olympic medal

TOKYO - Four months ago, she had to be escorted on a wheelchair to board her flight home from Qatar after her chronic back injury flared up during the WTT Star Contender event in Doha, raising doubts if she would be fit for the Tokyo Olympics.

Now, Singapore paddler Yu Mengyu is one win away from claiming an Olympic medal after she beat Japan's world No. 10 Kasumi Ishikawa 4-1 (8-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-6, 11-2) after 47 minutes in the women's singles quarter-finals at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday (July 28).

The world No. 47 will face either China's top-ranked Chen Meng or Hong Kong's world No. 15 Doo Hoi Kem in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Another win will guarantee an unprecedented silver in the event for the Republic. At the very least, there will be another chance in the bronze playoff.

Ishikawa had a 8-7 advantage in their head-to-head record going into the showdown with Yu, and this match was similarly even.

Yu lost an opening game for the first time in her Tokyo 2020 campaign, but showed great resolve to work her way back into the match, especially in the third game when she came back from 10-8 down to take a 2-1 lead.

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The 31-year-old's result means she has surpassed her quarter-final run in her Olympic debut at Rio 2016.

After a bye into the second round, Yu steamrolled past Portugal's world No. 63 Shao Jieni 4-0 on Sunday, swept Taiwanese world No. 8 Cheng I-Ching on Tuesday before seeing off America's 449th-ranked Liu Juan 4-2 in the round of 16 later that day.

Compatriot and three-time Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei was beaten 4-1 by Germany's Han Ying at the same stage.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.