The Swedish table tennis player, who has already been knocked out of the women’s doubles and mixed doubles, defeated the meritorious Chinese Chunxiao Hou in straight sets (11-5, 11-6, 11-9) in the round of 16 yesterday.
Thus, she was only one match away from a medal, as both semifinal losers receive a medal in the Paralympics table tennis.
The opponent played the Olympics
But she was never really close to succeeding in that. Brazilian Bruna Alexandre, who participated in the Olympics earlier this summer, was superior in the first two sets, which she won 11–4 and 11–2.
In the third set, the match picture changed completely, and the Swede won 11–6 against the Brazilian, against whom she had three losses in three games before the match.
Swing after timeout
Even in the fourth set, it started positively for the Swede, who went up to 3–0.
But then the Brazilian took a timeout – and then there was never any talk about it. Alexandre won eight straight balls, and never let go of that lead.
“It’s really boring”
In the end, she won 11–4, and Händén’s Paralympics adventure is over for this time.
– It’s very sad, of course. But it was a good player I faced, and I still think I got the better of it in the end. But I missed a lot of opportunities and for that I am disappointed in myself, says Händén to SVT Sport.
With Händén’s loss, Sweden must continue to wait for the first Paralympics medal in Paris.