Tokyo Olympics: Hong Kong heroine Minnie Soo ‘never thought I could win’ as she steps up to claim bronze for women in team table tennis
- Fourth seeds come from behind to beat Rio 2016 silver medallists Germany in ‘most important match’ of their lives
- Coach Li Ching switches his line-up and Soo becomes the heroine with two singles wins, having only played doubles in earlier rounds
Minnie Soo Wai-yam played the match of her life as Hong Kong won a history-making bronze medal by beating Germany 3-1 in the women’s team table tennis at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Thursday morning, further solidifying these Games as the city’s greatest yet.
It was a first Olympic medal for a women’s table tennis team and a second for Hong Kong table tennis after a silver in the men’s doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
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“The last moment, I could not figure out what had happened,” Soo said. “I never thought I could win and beat the two Germans. I lost to them by big margins before and never won. I just wanted to play point by point, and be very committed in the matches and enjoy it. Unbelievable.”
It was Soo’s second singles win of the morning, having earlier dispatched Han Ying to bring Hong Kong level at 1-1.