Ying Han before Paris exit
Achilles tendon rupture mutates into bitter Olympic “shock”
January 11, 2024, 8:32 p.m
Bad news for Ying Han: Germany’s best table tennis player tore her Achilles tendon at a tournament in Qatar and will definitely miss the World Team Championships in February and probably also the Olympic Games in the summer. The tear needs to be operated on, the national coach is in “shock”.
The top German table tennis player Ying Han has to worry about her participation in the Olympic Games in Paris in the summer due to a torn Achilles tendon. The 37-year-old world number eight suffered the serious injury at the WTT tournament in Doha in her second round match against South Korean Jeon Jihee.
“This is a shock,” said national coach Tamara Boros, according to a statement from the German Table Tennis Federation (DTTB), commenting on the diagnosis made by the hospital doctors for the four-time European team champion in Qatar’s capital. “According to the doctors, the tear needs to be operated on. Ying will probably have to take a long break. I’m incredibly sorry for Ying, who works so hard and is in fantastic shape. But she’s a fighter. I’m giving her a big hug Fingers crossed that her big goal, the Olympic Games in Paris, remains achievable,” the Croatian continued.
The mishap happened to Han in the deciding set of the duel with Jeon for a place in the round of 16 when he was leading 7:3. “While running forward, Ying noticed a small bump on the ground, made a quick wrong move – and that’s when it happened,” said Boros, describing her number one’s mishap.
Tournament plans are initially gone
The forced break for Han, who won silver at Olympic tournaments with the German women’s team in Rio in 2016 and reached the semi-finals in Tokyo in 2021, is throwing the German Table Tennis Association’s (DTTB) plans for the upcoming top tournaments overboard . Initially, the world’s best defender from Polish Champions League winners KTS Tarnobrzeg wanted to defend her title at the Europe Top 16 Cup in Montreux next week, before Han led the DTTB selection again at the World Cup in Busan, South Korea, after winning bronze in Chengdu, China in 2022 podium should lead.
The further course of action will be decided after Hans returns home to Düsseldorf. “We are now traveling to Germany and will talk to our team doctor Toni Kass, who will carry out further examinations,” said Boros.