Fu Yu felt tired and dizzy after Olympic defeat

Fu Yu looked close to making history on Tuesday but fatigue took its toll on her defeat to Poland’s Natalia Bajor, leaving her “sorry” for a second-round exit in the women’s table tennis singles tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

At the Arena Paris Sul, the Portuguese, ranked 80th in the world, lost to Bajor (ranked 48th) by scores of 11-7, 11-8, 15-17, 4-11, 7-11, 12-10 and 11-11. 8, in a match in which he suffered physical problems in the third set.

The oldest athlete at the Portuguese mission in Paris in 2024, the 45-year-old tennis player was close to achieving a historic milestone for the country by becoming the first Portuguese woman to reach the last 16 in table tennis.

At Table 2, Fu Yu started the first two sets better, but Bajor turned the tide and led 2-0.

“The two sets I lost the first two, I could have won. I was winning those sets, leading by three points, but in the end I lost. It became more difficult. Then I won three sets in a row, but in the last one, on the set, I was a little tired, I felt tired in my arms and legs,” he told Lusa.

In the third set, the first she won, the Portuguese took a timeout when she was down 6-3, showing physical problems: she leaned on the edge of the table and leaned over several times while talking to her coach. Xie Juan.

“I felt pain in my neck and dizziness. When I bent over, I felt dizzy because my neck hurt,” he explained to Lusa.

Despite the dizziness, she won that set and the next two, and in the sixth she seemed close to ending the match and improving her 17th place in Tokyo 2020, but the Polish tennis player made fewer mistakes and won with a score of 12-10.

In the final half, Bajor called a timeout when they were down 3-1 and then went on to win.

“Of course I wanted to win. It was a shame,” she concluded, visibly moved.

In his third Olympic participation, Fu Yu equalled his Tokyo 2020 finish – he was 33rd in Rio 2016.