Olympics: Hayata into table tennis semis as Harimoto, Hirano exit

Hina Hayata will fly the flag as Japan's last remaining medal contender in singles table tennis at the Paris Olympics after compatriots Tomokazu Harimoto and Miu Hirano both lost quarterfinals on Thursday.No. 3 seed Hayata dug deep to overcome women's singles opponent Pyon Song Gyong of North Korea 4-3 at South Paris Arena to set up a semifinal showdown with Chinese No. 1 seed Sun Yingsha.Harimoto, Hayata's mixed doubles partner, earlier fell to Chinese men's world champion Fan Zhendong in a seven-game epic, while Hirano also lost in seven to women's last-eight opponent Shin Yu Bin of South…READ FULL ARTICLE