Following their respective Round of 32 matches today (21 Feb), Singapore’s men and women’s teams have been eliminated from the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan, South Korea.
The women’s team lost 3-0 to Poland, whereas the men’s team lost by the same score line to Iran, according to the World Table Tennis website.
Taking their world ranking into consideration, the men’s team can no longer qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, reported The Straits Times (ST).
However, the women’s team may still stand a chance of making the cut.
The women’s team comprised the trio of Zhou Jingyi, Zeng Jian, and Wong Xin Ru. All three players lost by a narrow 2-3 score line to their respective Polish opponents.
World No. 103 Zhou put up a strong fight against World No. 52 Natalia Bajor, with several close matches. However, Bajor eventually defeated her with scores of 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11 and 11-8.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
Zeng, ranked 60th, also lost to her opponent Katarzyna Wegrzyn (No. 133), who came on top with 11-4, 4-11, 11-9, 7-11 and 11-8.
Wong was the last in the lineup for the women’s team match, prevailing for the first two matches.
But their glimmer of hope was dashed when World No. 133 Zuzanna Weilgos eventually triumphed with 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 and 14-12.
The Singapore women’s trio together hold the 10th position in the world. Their Polish counterparts are 20th.
Depending on their performance in the Round of 16, the Singapore women’s team may still have a shot in qualifying for the upcoming Paris Olympics if they emerge as top eight.
Like the women’s team, the men’s team comprising Koen Pang, Izaac Quek and Clarence Chew suffered a 3-0 loss to their opponents Iran.
Starting off the match, World No. 240 Nima Alamian defeated World No. 79 Pang with scores of 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 and 11-6.
Quek’s (No. 55) time on the court was similarly short-lived as he lost 11-6, 11-6 and 11-4 to Noshad Alamiyan (No. 51).
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
In the end, World No. 171 Chew also could not turn the game around as 122nd-ranked Amir Hossein Hodaei defeated him with scores of 11-6, 11-5 and 11-5.
As the Singapore team is 22nd in the world, it has failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Despite the defeat, the team remains determined in their pursuit. Notably, Pang mentioned:
We are still going to work hard and try to qualify for the Olympics individually, and we’re all looking forward to the Singapore Smash in March.
Also read: S’pore’s Zeng Jian Wins World Table Tennis Singles Title, Edges Closer To Paris Olympics
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.
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