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For Dimitrij Ovtcharov it was the 19th loss in the 19th game against Ma Long
Photo: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP
Dimitrij Ovtcharov missed the final of the Olympic table tennis tournament.
In a high-class and up to the last fought semi-final against the Chinese world champion and Rio winner Ma Long, the German lost after seven sets (11:13, 8:11, 11: 9, 11: 9, 7:11, 11: 5, 9 : 11).
“I'm playing in the biggest tournament we have against the best table tennis player that ever was.
I had him on the verge of defeat.
It was certainly one of the best games I've ever played, "said Ovtcharov, who had the feeling right up to the end that he could finally beat the Chinese in Tokyo in their 19th clash.
“There was more or less just emptiness, deep pain.
I couldn't believe that the game was actually over. "
Ovtcharov, the comebacker
Ovtcharov got into the game well, could have secured the first set, but missed a set point when the score was 10: 9.
Ma Long took the 32-year-old's set and increased it to a 2-0 lead in the second.
In the third and fourth set, Ovtcharov showed strong nerves after Ma Long had presented well in each case.
The right-hander won the third round after trailing 7: 9, in the fourth he caught up with a 5: 8 and equalized after sets.
A new set lead by the Chinese after the fifth, the last European in the competition equalized again in the sixth and thus forced the decision in the seventh set.
In the end, it went as it had in the previous 18 matches between the two: Ma Long had the upper hand and won the game.
After 1:21 hours he used his third power ball and made the final perfect.
Two Chinese in the final
“It was a mad game by Dima.
It was high class until the end.
It's extremely bitter, it feels really bad, «said national coach Jörg Roßkopf.
"We have to set it up for the bronze match now."
Ovtcharov will play against the 19-year-old Lin Yun-Ju from Taiwan for third place on Friday at 1 p.m. CEST.
For him it would be the second bronze medal after 2012 in London.
An hour later, Ma Long meets world number one Fan Zhendong in the Chinese final.
For the fourth time in a row, two Chinese are in the Olympic final.
The other top German player, European champion Timo Boll, was eliminated in the round of 16 for the fourth time in a row.
tip / sid