Fairy-tale run at S’pore Smash ends at the hands of idols for local teenage table tennis duo

SINGAPORE – Of the squad of 15 Singaporean players competing at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash, women’s doubles wild card entry Loy Ming Ying and Chloe Lai were the least expected to make a prolonged run in the highest tier of the WTT Series.

Ahead of the event, the spotlight was on teammates Izaac Quek and Koen Pang, who made a quarter-final run in the men’s doubles in 2024.

This time, however, the teenagers were the ones who gave much cheer to local fans, as on Feb 24 they became the first Singaporean women’s pair to make the quarter-finals of the tournament, after an upset win over sixth-seeded duo German Wan Yuan and Australian Liu Yangzi.

The sole Singaporeans left in the US$1.55 million (S$1.96 million) tournament after day three, on Feb 25 they were hoping to score another upset over their idols, Japan’s third seeds Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata.

Unfortunately, their fairy-tale run at The Kallang’s OCBC Arena ended as the Japanese emerged victorious, beating the unranked pair 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-9).

Ming Ying, 15, who managed to get a wefie with the Japanese duo after the match, said: “I slept super well last night knowing that I’ll be playing my idols today.

“I was very excited and very nervous because you don’t get to play these top players often, so this is a very hard-earned opportunity to be able to play with them and I learnt a lot.”

After breezing through the first set, the Japanese pair looked comfortable during the start of the second as they took a 5-1 lead.

A strong push from Lai helped the Singaporeans claim a 9-8 lead, but they ultimately fell short.

They found themselves in the same situation in the third set, coming from 1-4 down to lead 9-8, but the teenagers were unable to capitalise and claim the set.

Lai, 18, said: “I think we played pretty good... better than we expected, because the opponent is so strong.

“But we were strong in the second set, that’s why we managed to get nine points, which was quite close. There’s a bit of pity there, but we performed quite well.

“We feel more confident now, knowing that we are not that far away from the top players around the world. So that boosts our confidence.”

Harimoto was surprised when told that the Singaporeans were big fans of hers.

Sharing that she has chatted with Ming Ying previously at the Asian Championships, the 17-year-old said: “When we see each other we’ll say hi, I think she’s really cute… I’ve always been the younger one previously, so I didn’t really have that chance of being the ‘senior’.

“This is probably the first time I’ve had younger players who (idolise me) that are already so strong. I feel like I can make friends with them, and that makes me really happy.

“We all love table tennis, so hopefully we will get to face each other again in future tournaments.”

Despite the defeat, the Singapore Smash journey continues for the Singaporean pair, as they will play in the Singapore Youth Smash from Feb 26 to March 1.

Once again, the fourth day of competition saw the form book thrown out, with several upsets posted at the OCBC Arena.

In the women’s doubles quarter-finals, China’s fifth-seeded Kuai Man and Chen Yi beat South Korean top seeds Kim Na-yeong and Ryu Han-na 3-1 (11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 13-11). They will face Harimoto and Hayata in the last four on Feb 26.

Nineteenth-ranked Maria Xiao of Spain and Romania’s Adina Diaconu came from behind to beat second-seeded Satsuki Odo of Japan and South Korea’s Joo Cheon-hui 3-2 (8-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8). They will next face South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin and Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki.

In the mixed doubles, Kim later paired up with Hong Kong’s Baldwin Chan to defeat Huang Youzheng and Chen 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 13-11) to book a semi-final meeting with top seeds Shin and Lim Jong-hoon of South Korea.

Chen and Huang’s exit also means that for the first time, a Grand Smash event will see a non-Chinese pair win the mixed doubles title. The other semi-final will see Brazil’s third seeds Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi going up against Hong Kong’s second-seeded pair Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem.

In the evening’s action, China’s women’s singles world No. 1 and defending champion Sun Yingsha was made to work before beating Romania’s 43rd-ranked Elizabeta Samara 3-1 (11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5). She will face compatriot and world No. 14 Shi Xunyao in the last 16 on Feb 27.

Sun said: “We actually haven’t played each other very much, and our last match was three years ago.

“Her experience in matches is really quite good... her first three shots in the rally are very fast, so when I wasn’t in a very comfortable position on court at times, I kept feeling like I couldn’t really get into my own rhythm.”