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Singaporean paddler Yu Mengyu went up against Japan's Mima Ito this evening (July 29) in a bid to secure a bronze medal for Singapore.

Yu won the first set (11-6). However, she lost the second (8-11), third (7-11), fourth (7-11) and fifth (6-11) set.

20-year-old Mima Ito, who was touted as a "medal favourite", is currently ranked world #3. Her highest ranking is #2. In the semi-finals, she was beaten by China's Sun Yingsha.

Previous match

Earlier this morning, Yu was defeated by China's Chen Meng – ranked number 1 in the world.

Chen is China's "top-ranked" paddler and is ranked #1 in the world. She is also the first female table tennis player to win four consecutive titles at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals after winning the 2020 edition in Zhengzhou.

Yu lost four sets to Chen, and play was stopped for Yu’s knee injury to be attended to during the fourth set.

She was later quoted saying that she had sustained a slight injury to her thigh, CNA reported, and added that she would "try (her) best to keep fighting".

Singapore has secured three Olympic medals in table tennis: A women's team silver in 2008, a team bronze in 2012, and a bronze in the women's single, secured by Feng Tian Wei that same year.

Top photo via Steph Chambers / Getty images.