Singaporean Zeng Jian overcomes nerves to reach Olympic table tennis round of 32; Izaac Quek and Zhou Jingyi withdraw

PARIS – Despite all the mental preparation she had put into making her Olympic debut, the significance of the occasion still struck a chord with Singapore’s top female table tennis player, Zeng Jian.

But when push came to shove in front of a crowd of 6,650, including Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, at the South Paris Arena 4, the world No. 52 showed her mettle to beat No. 73 of Croatia, Ivana Malobabic, 4-3 (11-5, 11-3, 11-13, 11-6, 9-11, 13-15, 11-5) in the women’s singles round of 32.

Zeng told The Straits Times: “I tried to prepare as best as I could, but I was still super nervous when I walked out into the Olympic stadium with a packed crowd. My mind went blank and I couldn’t play as planned because my hands and body felt stiff.

“We were nervous at first and were looking for our rhythm, but my opponent’s shot quality improved after the second game, which helped her get back into the match.

“I really wanted to finish the match in the sixth game and even though I didn’t manage to do that, I made some breakthroughs that helped me in the deciding set. In the last game, I felt I had to play big because if I continued to be conservative, I wouldn’t be able to win.”

After beating the 44-year-old, Zeng will face another unconventional player: top Indian player Sreeja Akula (No. 25), a long-spike blocker who swept Sweden’s Christina Kallberg 4-0. If the 27-year-old beats Akula, she will likely face China’s world No. 1 Sun Yingsha in the round of 16.

“She (Akula) is in a superior position, but we are equal and I will give my all against her. I am looking forward to playing more matches on this big stage,” said the Chinese-born Singaporean.

Who would not?

At times, the atmosphere was electric, with a mix of colour and class. As players competed on four black tables with pink outlines in a vast hall decorated with pastel green banners, flag-waving fans supported their favourite athletes by clapping, cheering and stamping their feet on the metal scaffolding to create a real uproar.

Congolese world number 117 Saheed Idowu was even moved to tears as he received a standing ovation for leading Sweden’s 25th-ranked Anton Kallberg to the final before losing their men’s singles match.

Sadly, there were no surprises for Singapore’s teenage debutants Izaac Quek and Zhou Jingyi either.

In the men’s singles, Quek put up a good fight to win two games against Slovenian Darko Jorgic, ranked 18th, who eventually won 4-2 (8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 13-11, 3-11, 11-7).

Although the world number 83 was praised by the winner as a “talented player who can beat anyone”, the 18-year-old would later regret not being able to convert his three game points in the fourth game.

Quek, who had the support of his parents and sister in the stands, said: “I enjoyed the match because it was very back and forth. I received well and used more reverse pendulum serves to put him under pressure.

“The fourth game was crucial and I didn’t take full advantage of the opportunity when I was leading 10-7. His overall game is stronger than mine and I still need to improve my rallying ability.”

Earlier, world number 113 in women’s singles Zhou also briefly threatened to cause an upset when she lost 4-1 (9-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7, 11-9) to Romanian number 10 Bernadette Szocs.

Szocs called the 19-year-old a “fighter” as she won the first game despite suffering from a knee injury. However, the 29-year-old’s experience prevailed and she stepped up to complete the comeback.

Zhou said: “I focused more on the first three strokes because these usually determine who wins the points.

“I did pretty well in the first game. Maybe she was nervous and made quite a few unforced errors, but she adjusted and forced me to play top spins when I prefer to play down spins. She became more offensive and I became quite defensive towards the end.

“During the last match, my coach told me to play as if I had nothing to lose. I tried to attack more, I came back from a 4-6 deficit to lead 8-6, but in the end Bernadette is the stronger player.”