Olympics: Japan rebounds to take bronze in women's team table tennis

Olympics: Japan rebounds to take bronze in women's team table tennis

August 17, 2016

(Mainichi Japan)

Japan's Ai Fukuhara, left, Kasumi Ishikawa, and Mima Ito wave after receiving the Bronze medal in women's team gold medal team table tennis at the Summer Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

    RIO DE JANEIRO (Kyodo) -- Japan did not take its semifinal defeat to Germany very well. So the Japanese let it all out against Singapore on Tuesday, when they won 3-1 to finish Rio 2016 with a bronze medal in the women's team event.

    "I wanted to finish the competition with a smile on my face," said 15-year-old Mima Ito, who beat world No. 4 Feng Tianwei 3-0 in the decisive fourth match.

    "There was nothing we could do about the loss to Germany. Our only option was to let out all our frustrations in today's third-place match."

    "I've cried after winning in the past, but today was the first time I couldn't control myself," Ai Fukuhara said. "It's been the toughest four years I've had, and the toughest Olympics I've had."

    "As the oldest player and captain of the team, I couldn't allow myself to be rattled. I swore to myself that I wouldn't cry afterward, but I couldn't hold on."

Mika Ito, right, , Kasumi Ishikawa, center, and Ai Fukuhara of Japan celebrate after their win against Singapore during their women's team table tennis bronze medal match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 16, 2016. Japan won Singapore 3-1.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

    Fukuhara dropped the first match 3-2, but Kasumi Ishikawa righted the ship for Japan with a 3-0 victory over Feng behind a come-from-behind 12-10 win in the first game.

    Fukuhara and Ito went on to beat Zhou Yihan and Yu Mengyu 3-1 in the doubles before Ito secured Japan's place on the podium with a cogent win against Feng, who could not capture a single game on the afternoon.

    Coach Yasukazu Murakami said trying to move on from Sunday's crippling 3-2 loss against Germany was not easy, a result that denied Japan a second successive trip to the Olympic final.

    Four of the five matches went to five games, including the first, which Ito lost despite being ahead 9-3 in the final game.

    "It was difficult getting ready for this match," Murakami said. "This team hasn't lost much and we lost a match that was there for the taking against Germany."

    "If we didn't have the one day in between, I don't think we would have been able to win today. We used yesterday to regroup mentally, and practiced a little."

    "Gold, silver would have been better but if we didn't win this bronze, it was going to haunt us for the next four years."

    Four-time Olympian Fukuhara was bawling after the match, saying she let down the team with her performance in the first match against Yu.

    The 27-year-old veteran also wanted to win a medal for Ito, a fellow prodigy who Fukuhara has taken under her wing and has been mentoring throughout the Games.

    "This is my third Olympics (team event), but I know all too well that there is a huge difference between going home with a medal and going home without one," Fukuhara said. "I'm relieved and gratified to have won this medal."

    "If we missed out on a medal, I know it would have eaten Mima up for the next four years, more than it would have me or Kasumi. So I was determined to win a medal today."

    Ito, however, might be maturing faster than Fukuhara thinks. Ito kept her composure in both matches and was never in danger of relinquishing control against Feng.

    "She continues to surprise me," Murakami said. "She wasn't even focused at the start. She only switched on from the second game. She's not your average player."

    With Ishikawa -- the bedrock of the women's team who on this day underlined her quality in beating Feng -- and Ito, Japan appears to be in good hands at home for 2020.

    "Laugh or cry, this was it so I gave it everything I had," Ito said. "We wanted to win a silver here at the least, but were reminded just how difficult it is to win an Olympic medal. You never know what can happen. But we won a medal of some kind so I'm happy."