Dream debut for Chew

He may have fallen on his knees after his first Olympic Games match yesterday, but Clarence Chew was the one who emerged victorious from the table tennis men's singles first-round tie after a tense win over Senegal's Ibrahima Diaw.

The world No. 186 Singaporean prevailed 4-2 (11-4, 4-11, 11-3, 13-11, 3-11, 12-10) against his higher-ranked opponent - Diaw is 71st.

While the 25-year-old said he was "feeling butterflies in my stomach" and "may have drunk a bit too much water" in between games, he added: "I'm the kind who likes the grand atmosphere, I tend to play better. I was a bit nervous at the start, but I played better after that."

His record speaks for itself. Before the pandemic disrupted events, Chew had beaten Hong Kong's world No. 20 Wong Chun Ting at the 2020 ITTF World Team Qualification Tournament.

The southpaw, the first Singapore-born paddler to qualify for the men's singles at the Games, faces Austrian world No. 44 Daniel Habesohn in today's round of 64.

He will need to raise his game, like how he did against Diaw.

Whatever he lacked in ranking points, he more than made up for it with his international experience - Chew featured at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games while Diaw started competing for Senegal only in 2019.

In the largely empty Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium - no spectators were allowed due to Covid-19 restrictions - Chew took the early initiative.

Diaw, born to a Senegalese father and Malian mother in France, hit back in the second.

He raced to a 6-0 lead before tying the contest as both players looked tentative - new coronavirus rules barring them from wiping the table with their hands has been one notable adjustment.

Chew was clearly frustrated but a pep talk from his coach, three-time Olympian Gao Ning, had its desired effect.

Chew was more aggressive in his play and easily took the third game, pulled through the fourth, survived a fightback from the 29-year-old Diaw in the fifth, and showed his mettle in the sixth to progress.

Gao said: "Clarence did very well, he has been showing good form and mindset.

"Pre-match, I told him not to put too much pressure on himself by placing too much emphasis on this being the Olympics.

"We also prepared well for this match. Diaw's strengths are his serve and power, so we knew if Clarence could receive and handle the spin well, and played with a good pace, he stood a good chance of winning.

"During the match, I told him to be bold in his game play.

"He was always in the lead, so I told him even if he lost a game, there's always another one and we go again.

"There are no easy opponents here and it will get more difficult. We will prepare for the next match to the best of our ability and try to record another victory."

Unlike other athletes who skipped Friday's opening ceremony because they were competing next day, Chew was part of Singapore's parade contingent.

"Couldn't miss it," he said gleefully.

"Every time I come to Japan, I tend to play well. It may be because of the food.

"The stadium, the lighting and everything just feels very suitable for me. I really like competing here."

While he is clearly a rank outsider compared to top Chinese and Japanese players like world No. 1 Fan Zhendong and the fourth-ranked Tomokazu Harimoto, Chew admitted to forecasting his potential match-ups, with Fan a possible round-of-16 opponent.

He said: "Of course, I looked all the way. But I also know every opponent is tough and higher-ranked than me, so I will focus on one match at a time and do my best."