Seo Su Yeon beats Giada Rossi, denies Italy gold in Lasko final
Seo Su Yeon overpowered Giada Rossi 3-0 in Lasko, reversing their group-stage result and leaving Italy with silver instead of gold in class 2.
Seo Su Yeon turned the class 2 final into a statement from the opening points, sweeping Giada Rossi 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 in Lasko and shutting down the Italian’s bid for gold. Rossi had beaten Seo 3-0 in the group stage, but the title match followed a different script once the pressure tightened and Seo seized control immediately.
Rossi opened the final 3-0 and still could not find the foothold she had used earlier in the week. Seo answered with seven straight points to flip the first game, and from there Rossi was forced to chase every phase of the match. The second game followed the same pattern, with Seo moving from 2-2 to 6-2 and never allowing the Italian back into rhythm. In the third, Rossi again had to fight uphill from the start, and Seo closed out the match on her second championship point.
The result denied Italy a second gold in the final and left Rossi with silver in a tournament that still delivered a full singles medal set for the squad. Earlier on May 13, Carlotta Ragazzini, Matteo Parenzan and Ludo Bini had each taken bronze, giving Italy one silver and three bronzes across the singles events in the ITTF World Para Elite Lasko 2026, which ran from May 11 to May 15. Under national team director Alessandro Arcigli, the Italian group left the singles phase with multiple athletes still alive in the draw, including Rossi and Ragazzini in women’s doubles.
For Rossi, the loss came against the player who had beaten her in the Paris 2024 women’s singles WS1-2 field, where Rossi won gold and Seo took bronze. That made the Lasko final a sharp measuring-stick match between two of the class’s established names. Rossi entered the event ranked No. 1 in class 2 and No. 9 in women’s wheelchair, while Seo arrived ranked No. 5 in class 2 and No. 25 in women’s wheelchair, with a previous high of No. 1 in the class in August 2024.
The final underlined how fine the margins remain at the top of the class 2 game. Rossi still owns the pedigree, including Paralympic gold in Paris and a medal run that dates back to Rio 2016, but Seo was sharper when the title was on the line and left no doubt about the standard Rossi must reach to take the next rematch.
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