Feng Tianwei missed out on the chance to lift a third crown within a month yesterday, when she suffered a 0-4 defeat to Germany's Han Ying at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Korea Open final.

The world No. 4 Singaporean struggled all match to cope with her opponent's defensive style, and was found playing catchup throughout at the Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon. She was beaten 11-6, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7.

Han, ranked 14th in the world, had also beaten Feng at the 2012 Qatar Open in the round of 32.

The Korea Open has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Feng, who won the 2009 and 2011 editions, and was also a finalist in 2010. She earned a place in this year's final after beating team-mate Yu Mengyu earlier in the semi-finals, winning 11-4, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 11-4.

She has been in good form in recent months, having won the ITTF Philippines Open and Australia Open last month. Both are Challenge-level events, a tier lower than the Korea Open.