Paris France – Adriana Diaz She overcame a strong battle to defeat American Amy Wang in table tennis' top 32 round on Monday. Paris 2024 Olympic GamesIt puts Olympism into new territories.
With her 4-2 win, Diaz advanced to the last 16 of the Olympics for the first time. Puerto Rican did not reach this stage in Rio 2016 or Tokyo 2020. Thus, it is the first time that Puerto Rico has reached this round in table tennis at the Olympic Games.
Diyas won 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-8 and 11-7.
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“It was a relief. “I'm not going to lie,” Diaz responded after the win. “I know what I worked for, what my team did, everything that the sponsors, the Olympic Committee and the people in Puerto Rico like DRT (Department of Entertainment and Sports) gave me. It's a relief for me and everyone who supports me, because I deserve it and I fought for it until the end.
Diaz will play in the next round on Wednesday against an opponent that will be determined on Tuesday.
Wang's luck helped him win the first set. 10-9 back in his favor. Earlier, Diaz trailed 9-6. Wang won 11-9.
Wang attacked the rear Diyas won the first set.
In the second set, Wang led 6-3 and 10-7, constantly attacking the Puerto Rican backcourt. In a way, he tied the Puerto Rican with that shot and showed defensive play.
In the third set, the American maintained his strategy and took a 4-0 lead. Diaz's body language wasn't great. Even so, the Puerto Rican leveled at 6-6 and took a 7-6 lead on a deflected ball from the American.
The first sets took place in front of deaf French fans in the stands, who supported their tennis player Alexis Lebrun, who was playing at a nearby table.
“The game was very strange from the start. ALEXIS'S VISITORS… The umpire is lost and the assistant throws two balls at once. And that eventually bothered Amy, and I was quiet enough to fight and fight and fight,” Diaz said.
Diaz invented something to replace Wang's strategy: short returns. With that strategy, he took a 10-8 lead in the third set, which he ended with Wang's long ball.
1/12 | Celebrate Puerto Rican! Adriana Diaz is one of the top 16 players at the Olympic Games. Adriana Diaz is hugged by her father and trainer, Bladimir Diaz. – Xavier Araujo
The person in charge of the scoreboard made several mistakes in the score and needed to be corrected. There were two occasions between the second and fourth sets, and both resulted in moments of inactivity at the table.
Despite winning the third set, Diaz was still out of rhythm in the fourth game, in which she sent long balls into the net to fall behind 6-2. However, just like in the third set, Diyas came from behind to tie things up at 7-7 and take an 8-7 lead. A cross attack from him and a long ball from Wang made the set 10-8. After being tied at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12, Wang hit an attack to the net and her long serve leveled the match.
“Emi is a player who feeds off your speed, I am a stronger player than speed. I couldn't hit the ball as hard as I wanted. I put her in and she came back. “My father told me, 'Adriana, start cutting, cutting and cutting (short shots) so she can't create an attack,'” explored the Puerto Rican.
Diaz seemed to find some rhythm in the fifth set, in which she led 6-3 and 8-5. Wang made mistakes when the Puerto Rican was involved in the attack, leaving attacks and returns at the net.
In control, Diyas took the sixth set 2-0 to take a 6-1 lead.
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