Giorgia Piccolin at her Olympic appearance. © APA/afp / JUNG YEON-JE

Giorgia Piccolin's Olympic dream is quickly over

For the first time in her career, Bolzano table tennis player Giorgia Piccolin took part in Olympic Games. However, the tournament was quickly over for the 28-year-old.

July 29, 2024

From: det

"The Olympic Games have always been my dream goal," said Giorgia Piccolin before the start of the games in Paris. The fact that this dream came true in Paris of all places was special for the woman from Bolzano, after all she lived in the French capital for two years.

On Monday, Piccolin finally made her big appearance. However, the tournament was over for the 28-year-old after just 34 minutes: she suffered a clear 8:0 defeat against the Japanese Miu Hirano, who is seeded number 4.

Well fought, but clearly lost

Piccolin, who is ranked 62nd in the world, was only able to keep up with the Japanese player (13th in the world rankings) in the first set. The player from Talferstadt immediately won the first point of the match, but then Hirano pulled ahead to 4:1. Although Piccolin fought back, she still had to give up the set 9:11. In the subsequent sections, the Japanese opponent was too strong: 5:11, 5:11, 7:11 was the final score from Piccolin's perspective.

Miu Hirano was too strong for Giorgia Piccolin. © APA/afp / JUNG YEON-JE

This means that the second South Tyrolean table tennis player has also been eliminated. On Sunday, Debora Vivarelli also lost 0:4 to Hina Hayata and has to return home. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable few days in Paris for the two South Tyrolean table tennis aces.