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Lebanese player Mariana Sahakian secured a decisive 4-1 victory over Chilean Zhiying Zeng (4-11, 14-12, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8), marking a promising start at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Mariana Sahakian shone in her first match at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She dominated the seasoned Chilean Zhiying Zeng in five intense sets, showcasing remarkable determination and skill.
Zeng won the first set, exploiting her opponent’s weaknesses with a score of 11-4. Thanks to a sequence of five consecutive points and an impressive 85.7% attack success rate, the 58-year-old Chilean, coached by Omar Mora, quickly took the lead, using her backhand to unsettle Sahakian.
Sahakian’s Ascendancy
However, the momentum shifted in the second set. Mariana Sahakian displayed resilience and skill by winning a tightly contested set 14-12. Her impressive 69.2% winning counter rate marked the beginning of her dominance. Focused and aggressive, she began to gain the psychological upper hand over her opponent.
In the third set, Sahakian took clear control of the game. With a 75% winning counter rate and a series of five consecutive points, she overwhelmed Zeng to win 11-5. Her defense proved impregnable, giving Zeng no chance to break her block.
The fourth set confirmed Sahakian’s superiority. Before Zeng called a timeout, she was already down 3-0. Despite her coach’s instructions, the timeout wasn’t enough to reverse the trend. Sahakian continued to dominate, winning the set 11-4 with an 87.5% winning counter rate and another series of four consecutive points.
Decisive Set
In the fifth and final set, Zeng showed some resilience, rediscovering her forehand and withstanding Sahakian’s strong pressure. However, the Chilean couldn’t prevent the Lebanese player from clinching victory, as Sahakian sealed the set 11-8, marking her first Olympic win.
Final statistics reflect Mariana Sahakian’s impressive performance, with the longest rally totaling 114 shots and an average of 17 shots per point.
This stunning victory puts Mariana Sahakian on a strong start in Paris. She advances to the Round of 64 and will face American Lily Zhang on Sunday, July 28, at 9:00 PM (Beirut time, to be confirmed).
