OLYMPICS/ Hayata wins bronze in table tennis startggdespite wrist injury

By KENSUKE SUZUKI/ Staff Writer

August 4, 2024 at 14:48 JST

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Hina Hayata battles it out in the bronze medal match against South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin at the South Paris Arena on Aug. 3. (Kazuhiro Nagashima)

PARIS--A tearful Hina Hayata overcame injury to her left wrist to secure the women’s singles table tennis bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

It was only Japan’s second medal in the event after the one earned by one of her longtime rivals in Tokyo three years ago.

The left-hander crouched down to the court in tears after she defeated South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin 4-2 in the third-place match at the South Paris Arena on Aug. 3.

“The bronze medal is worth more to me than a gold,” said the 24-year-old.

Hayata could not take a bath on her own or even use a hair dryer due to the injury the previous night. She was hardly able to practice.

During the game, she focused on using her forehand instead of her backhand so as not to put an additional strain on her wrist.

“The gods spared forehand top-spins for me,” Hayata said.

Hayata has long been playing catchup with Mima Ito and Miu Hirano, who were also born in 2000.

“I could not have come this far without the two of them,” she said before the Paris Games, her first Olympics.

Ito and Hirano earned Olympic berths in 2021, while Hayata failed to make it to the Tokyo Games.

Ito went on to earn the singles bronze medal. Team Japan, comprising Ito, Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa, took home the silver medal.

Ito and Hirano have been leading their generation of players since their preschool days.

Hayata, who had said they were “out of her league,” needed funds to take part in international competitions and follow in their footsteps.

“Other family members only need rice and pickles for meals,” Hayata’s father, Isao, reportedly told his daughter’s coaches in her junior high school years. “Use whatever else is available for Hina.”

Hayata sharpened her skills overseas and qualified for the Paris Olympics.

She fought the mixed doubles with Tomokazu Harimoto, but the pair was eliminated in the first round.

In the singles semifinals, Hayata lost to China’s Sun Yingsha, the world’s No. 1 player.

With the bronze medal, she has finally caught up with Ito and Hirano.