Today, Saturday, August 28, 2021, is an incredibly important day! After my defeat against Anne Barneoud, the direct path to the semifinals was blocked, and I had to face the early challenge of the quarterfinals against the Korean player KIM Seongok. She is an older player who won the bronze medal in Rio in 2016.
Like my first opponent from Mexico, the Korean plays a slow game with a lot of spin, not really ‘my thing’. I stayed focused and won the first game, but in the second, I got caught up in her style of play and lost by a wide margin. In games 3 and 4, I took the initiative and eventually won the match, securing my spot in the semifinals. It might sound strange, but a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders: I still hadn’t played my best, but I had made it to the last four of the Paralympic Games!
Kim Seongok
I didn’t have much time to celebrate my victory because in less than four hours, the semifinal was scheduled against the Turkish player Kubra Korkut, a very well know player and who was also my opponent in the 2016 final in Rio de Janeiro . Kubra had convincingly won her first two matches, so I was alerted! I played the first game well and won it, but in the second game, I completely lost it and only got 3 points. The third game was incredibly tense, but I managed to win it by a narrow margin. In the fourth game, I found myself trailing 6-4, following to score 7 points in a row and win the match! I AM IN THE FINAL ONCE AGAIN!
Kubra Korkut
