Miu Hirano had the momentum and the arena behind her. She had her opponent on the ropes and a spot in the women’s table tennis semifinals in her sights.
She just did not have the last burst she needed to get over the finish line.
Hirano battled back from a 3-0 deficit but squandered a pair of match points to allows South Korea’s Shin Yubin to regroup and earn an 4-3 (11-4, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 8-11, 9-11, 13-11) win in a thrilling match that enthralled the crowd at South Paris Arena on Thursday afternoon.