On the eighth day of the Table Tennis World Championships in South Africa, Hina Hayata faced world No. 8 Sun Yingli of China in the semifinals of the women's singles tournament, losing the game count 1-1 and did not advance to the final.
On the eighth day of the tournament in Durban, South Africa, on the 8th, the semifinals of the men's and women's singles were held, and on the women's side, world No. 27 Hayata, who won a close match against a Chinese athlete and clinched her first medal in this event since 26 as a Japan team, faced world No. 2017 Sun.
In the first game, Hayata hit a forehand to take a 10-1 lead in the early stages.
However, they gradually struggled with Son's accurate shots and made mistakes, losing eight consecutive points and dropping the first game 1-4.
In the second game, they lost 3-8 on Son's strong forehands and backhands one after another, and lost the third game 1-4.
In the fourth game, Hayata hit his forehand hard to accumulate points and dominated the rally to win the game 11-2 to win the game.
Game 5 was a one-and-done affair, but in the end, they lost the game 11-3 in front of Son's world-class skills, losing the game count 8-11 and not advancing to the final.
Hayata became the first Japan athlete in this event to win a bronze medal since Miu Hirano in 4.
After the match, Hayata said, "Even if I hit a high-quality ball, the quality ball came back to me and I felt that I was on the upper side. I was in the right direction to work hard, so I want to keep working hard until the very end so that I can be rewarded someday."