(Beijing, China) - With a fifth-place finish in the team competition and two singles match wins under her belt, Jun Gao (Gaithersburg, Md.) had already become one of the most successful U.S. table tennis players in history, but she was unable to continue her impressive run after a 3-4 loss to Xue Wu (DOM) on Thursday.
While her teammate Chen Wang (New York City, N.Y.) played the end of her marathon match on the next court, Gao lost her first to matches, 10-12 and 8-11.
Although she earned her first game win, 11-6, in the third, Gao lost a quick fourth game, 11-3, before winning her next two, 11-8 and 14-12, to force a seventh game.
Like many of the others, Gao's seventh game was a close one, but she lost 9-11.
"The match was really tight and kind of long, but I just tried to fight," Gao said. "With the two games yesterday and then today, I think I missed points because I was too tired."
While her teammate Chen Wang (New York City, N.Y.) played the end of her marathon match on the next court, Gao lost her first to matches, 10-12 and 8-11.
Although she earned her first game win, 11-6, in the third, Gao lost a quick fourth game, 11-3, before winning her next two, 11-8 and 14-12, to force a seventh game.
Like many of the others, Gao's seventh game was a close one, but she lost 9-11.
"The match was really tight and kind of long, but I just tried to fight," Gao said. "With the two games yesterday and then today, I think I missed points because I was too tired."