TOKYO: After bowing out of Tokyo Olympics, India paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran on Sunday said it will take a few sleepless nights to overcome this heartbreaking loss.
Gnanasekaran on Sunday bowed out of the men's singles event after losing to Hong Kong's Lam Siu Hang here at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym -- Table 1 in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
"Very tough day on court and certainly a heartbreaking loss. Gutted to have missed my chances and probably will take a few sleepless nights to overcome it. Nevertheless, I gave it all on the court and it was a great learning experience to play in my debut Olympics," tweeted Sathiyan.
"Thank you, everyone, for all the love and support and certainly will come back stronger," he added.
Lam Siu Hang defeated Sathiyan 4-3 in Round 2 of the men's singles event on Sunday and as a result, he has progressed to Round 3. The entire match lasted for 1 hour and 3 minutes.
Siu Hang won Game 1 (11-7), but Sathiyan managed to make a comeback in Game 2 as he won it 11-7, and as a result, the match came to level terms.
Sathiyan continued with his charge in Games 3 and 4 and as a result, he took a 3-1 lead and he was just one game away from progressing to the next round.
But Siu Hang came back strongly in Game 5 and he was able to peg Sathiyan back and as a result, the match did not end and it progressed to Game 6.
Siu Hang charged with his momentum and as a result, the match progressed to the final and deciding Game 7. Sathiyan was not able to keep up in the final game, and as a result, he bowed out.