RIO DE JANEIRO – Table tennis player Kimie Bessho, 68, the oldest athlete in Japan’s delegation, on Saturday wore 39 butterfly-shaped hair accessories to express her gratitude to those who have supported her.

The numbers “3” and “9” when spoken in Japanese sound close to “Thank you” in English.

At the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, Bessho lost 3-0 to her South Korean opponent in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles class 5 event, one of the divisions for wheelchair users.

The seasoned player earned points with the technique she has honed for the latest Games, putting spin on the ball to make it fly high but fall close to the net and out of her opponent’s reach.

Bessho was 39 when her husband died of an illness. Two years later, she was diagnosed with cancer in her pelvic area and eventually had to use a wheelchair after undergoing two operations.

Even after leaving the hospital, Bessho stayed at home as she suffered severe pain. She wondered why she was still alive and thought many times that she should kill herself.

However, Bessho found herself fascinated by table tennis after starting the sport at 45, and the activity helped her overcome the anxiety and sorrow triggered by her disease.

Bessho made her Paralympic debut in Athens in 2004 and finished fifth in the following two Games in Beijing and London.

For Rio de Janeiro, Bessho trained her upper body – even when drinking tea by sitting on a balance ball – and tried to improve her visual acuity by juggling beanbags with numbers on them.

“You should be willing to take on challenges – this is the most important thing,” Bessho said. “I aim to perform well as long as I play table tennis.”

PARIS – Fresh from giving his players a rollicking Jose Mourinho’s focus turns from Manchester United’s derby defeat to European action with a tricky Europa League opener at in-form Feyenoord on Thursday.

It will be the Portuguese manager’s first game in the second-tier European competition since winning its predecessor the UEFA Cup with Porto in 2003 and he says he is taking it seriously.

Mourinho’s unbeaten start as United manager came to a stuttering stop Saturday as long-time nemesis Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City left Old Trafford with a 2-1 victory.

United can expect a tough Group A opener at Feyenoord, who are top of the Dutch league having won all five of their matches this season and have pedigree in the competition.

United’s Spanish attacking midfielder Juan Mata warned that after the disappointment of derby day there was “no time for mourning”.

“On Thursday we’re going to play the first game in the Europa League, away against Feyenoord, a classic in European football,” Mata said on his weekly blog.

“It’s going to be a very demanding debut in this competition,” he added of the road to the final in Stockholm next May.

Mourinho says that young attacking sensation Marcus Rashford will play after his impressive second-half cameo along with midfielder Ander Herrera on Saturday.

“He (Rashford) is going to play is the only thing I can say. I trust him completely and I know his future will be absolutely brilliant,” said the Portuguese, who was scathing of some of his players after the City defeat, particularly defender Eric Bailly.

English-Dutch clashes are always feisty affairs but United have beaten Feyenoord in both their previous meetings.

This time it will be more subdued – at least in the stands – with the capacity of the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam halved to 26,000 following UEFA sanctions for crowd trouble against Roma earlier this year.

United fans, whose ticket allocation has been slashed to 1,400, have been advised by the club not to wear United colours and avoid areas of potential conflict.

Feyenoord manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst said: “I’m confident that – in spite of the measures the club has to take – an atmosphere will be created again at De Kuip to ensure we, as a team, are able to perform at our very best in our home matches.”

Former United and Feyenoord striker Robin van Persie is set to play both clubs as his Fenerbahce side are also in Group A with the Turkish side taking on Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine in their opener.

Van Persie won the competition with boyhood club Feyenoord in 2002.

Spanish clubs have won six of the last 10 Europa League titles with Sevilla, the reigning three-time champions, now playing in the elite Champions League.

Of the finalists in the Europa League over the last decade eight are from Spain, who this season will be represented by Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo and Villarreal.

Celta, struggling from five successive La Liga losses, travel to Standard Liege in Group G, which also includes Dutch giants Ajax and Greek club Panathinaikos.

Athletic Bilbao travel to Italian side Sassuolo in Group F, which includes Rapid Vienna of Austria and Belgium side KRC Genk. Villarreal host FC Zurich in Group L.

England’s second representative, Southampton, host Czech club Sparta Prague in Group K looking for their first win under new boss Claude Puel, with Inter Milan, three times winners, hosting Israeli club Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

ONE Championship’s upcoming event, ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS, looks set to be a big one, as the main card and preliminary portion of the show have been announced. ONE Championship will storm its way back to the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, on 7 October.

The global main event will feature undefeated 11-0 ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito defending his belt against unbeaten number one contender Joshua Pacio. Also, in the local main event, hometown hero Aung La “Burmese Python” N Sang will battle Michal Pasternak in a middleweight affair.

Naito has been absolutely unstoppable ever since making his MMA debut four years ago. The 32-year-old Chiba, Japan, resident tore through the Shooto flyweight division and took the organization’s belt, successfully defending it twice.

Last April, he left the promotion to sign with ONE Championship, and made a successful debut a month later. That’s when he submitted ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke via rear-naked choke in the fourth round at ONE: KINGDOM OF CHAMPIONS to claim the title.

This upcoming contest will be Naito’s first title defense, but Pacio shouldn’t be overlooked.

A product of Team Lakay, the 20-year-old Filipino not only has a flawless 8-0 record, but he has finished every professional fight to date. The wushu specialist has three knockouts and five submissions to his name, including a brilliant first-round rear naked choke victory over Kritsada Kongsrichai at ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD this past August.

Another highly-anticipated bout is the local main event, where Aung La N Sang plans to make an illustrious return to his home country in impressive fashion. Currently training at Baltimore, Maryland-based fight gym Crazy 88 Mixed Martial Arts, the 31-year-old is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist on a three-fight win streak and an overall 18-9 record, with all of his victories ending in highlight-reel finishes.

Aung La will need another one of those stoppages if he wants to get a title shot against ONE Middleweight World Champion Vitaly Bigdash, but that will be easier said than done. After all, Pasternak has something to prove.

Pasternak (11-1) was riding a tremendous wave of momentum until it came crashing down last May when he was submitted by Roger Gracie at ONE: ASCENT TO POWER. That loss not only handed him his first-ever professional defeat, but it cost him the chance to become the promotion’s inaugural Light Heavyweight World Champion.

The well-rounded Polish combatant isn’t one to stand still, however. He wants, and needs, to recover quickly. With a win over Aung La, the 32-year-old will be able to keep his name close to the top of ONE’s middleweight crop.

Aside from the two dazzling two contests, three other bouts have been added to the fight card.

Muin “Tajik” Gafurov, a decorated combat sambo champion, will face off against Team Lakay’s Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, a former ONE Bantamweight World Title challenger, in a bantamweight tilt.

Both fighters are looking to get back into the win column, as Tajikistan’s Gafurov, a 10-1 fighter, lost to Reece McLaren in April at ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS, and the Philippines’ Belingon, a 13-5 competitor, was submitted by reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes at ONE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (CHANGSHA).

If that wasn’t enough, there is a second dose of bantamweight action as Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev takes on Jordan “Showtime” Lucas. Rocking a 15-4-1 record, Saadulaev is also a decorated combat sambo world champion. The 31-year-old is riding a three-fight win streak and will have to be at the top of his game to push it to four.  

Lucas, a 22-year-old Melbourne native fighting out of Australia’s Team Nemesis camp, has a stacked 8-1 record, with his only defeat coming to the hands of Edward Kelly at last March’s ONE: UNION OF WARRIORS. A former BRACE Bantamweight title holder, he is hoping to secure his first win under the ONE Championship banner.

From there, we step up to the featherweight division as Bashir “Somchai” Ahmad, a pioneer of Pakistan’s MMA Movement and the founder of PAKMMA, will look to break a two-fight losing skid and build upon his 3-3 record when he takes on Egyptian prospect Mahmoud Mohamed in a featherweight affair. Mohamed, also 3-3, plans to bounce back from his recent loss to Singaporean standout Christian Lee.

In addition to these fights, the organization will also hold the ONE Myanmar Featherweight Tournament, a contest pitting the country’s best homegrown talents against one another with the winner being crowned tournament champion.

There are some familiar names competing in the tournament, as Saw Ba Oo, Kyal Sin Phyo, Ye Yint Aung, and Phoe Thaw have all fought in the ONE cage before, with Kat Pali and Saw Yan Paing making their ONE debuts. All are famed Lethwei exponents.

The full fight card for ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS is as follows:

Global Main Event:

ONE Strawweight World Championship

Yoshitaka Naito vs Joshua Pacio

Local Main Event:

Aung La N Sang vs Michal Pasternak

ONE Myanmar Featherweight Tournament Final

Winner Semi-Final 2 vs Winner Semi-Final 1

Main Card:

Muin Gafurov vs Kevin Belingon  

Yusup Saadulaev vs Jordan Lucas

Bashir Ahmad vs Mahmoud Mohamed

Preliminary bouts:

ONE Myanmar Featherweight Tournament Alternate Bout

Saw Ba Oo vs Kyal Sin Phyo  

ONE Myanmar Featherweight Tournament Semi-Finals

Ye Yint Aung vs Saw Yan Paing  

Kat Pali vs Phoe Thaw