DAKAR, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Li Hechen and Yao Ruixuan made strong starts to their singles campaigns at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) on Sunday, although the pair later missed out on a place in the mixed doubles semifinals.
Yao swept Venezuela's Dakota Ferrer and Algeria's Tania Morice 3-0 in the women's singles group stage, while Li beat Germany's Jonas Rinderer 3-0 and Türkiye's Gorkem Ocal 3-1 in the men's singles, giving both Chinese players two wins.
"I hope I can play more freely in the coming matches," Yao said, adding that the Youth Olympics presented a greater challenge than other tournaments, as she was China's only female table tennis player at the Games.
"I felt nervous as soon as I entered the Youth Olympic Village and sensed the atmosphere of the competition. I hope to gradually overcome that feeling through each match," said the 17-year-old Li.
Li said it was his first visit to Africa and his first time attending the opening ceremony of a major multisport event. "There were so many people, and the atmosphere was fantastic. It was really impressive," he said.
He has also enjoyed interacting with athletes from other countries and regions, including training alongside a Thai player.
In the mixed doubles, however, Li and Yao lost to Japan's Ryuusei Kawakami and Miku Matsushima in four games in a 39-minute quarterfinal.
"Our opponents were among the favorites to win the title, but we managed to play our own game. We're really happy to have come away with the win. This was our first time partnering in a major competition, and we've been training together for about six months. We often watch videos of our opponents' matches to study their playing styles and work out strategies," Kawakami said.
"My goal is to win two gold medals in both the singles and mixed doubles events," Matsushima added. ■
