SINGAPORE – Singaporean teenager Izaac Quek made history at the South East Asia Regional Olympic Qualification on May 10, when he became the youngest local-born table tennis player to qualify for the Olympics.

The 17-year-old beat Thailand’s Phakpoom Sanguansin 4-2 (7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-5) in the men’s singles final in Bangkok to earn his spot at the Paris Games.

He will be joined by teammate Zeng Jian, as the duo made up for the disappointment of missing out on Olympic team events in March by clinching spots in the singles events this time.

Zeng had cruised past Malaysia’s Ho Ying, Filipina Kheith Cruz and Vietnam’s Mai Trang in the women’s singles group stage with a consistent attacking game.

The reigning SEA Games champion then showed imperious form to sweep Malaysia’s Alice Chang 4-0 in the semi-final on May 9.

She then recovered from a 1-5 deficit in the fifth game to overcome Vietnam’s Nguyen Khanh 4-1 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10) in the final on May 10.

The 27-year-old said: “I’m very happy and grateful for the team’s support.

“With the confidence that came from winning the SEA Games gold, as well as willpower, I managed to earn this quota.

“The top players will be in Paris and I hope to go as far as possible and leave with no regrets.”

Later in the day, Quek followed suit after enduring sterner tests.

He navigated past the men’s singles group stage with victories over Vietnam’s Dinh Anh Hoang and Jann Nayre from the Philippines.

He then edged past another Filipino, chopper John Misal, 4-3 in the semi-final.

Facing home favourite Phakpoom in the final in front of a 300-strong crowd that included Quek’s parents, he showed patience and resilience to win despite trailing by a game twice.

He said: “I’m very happy because this is my main goal for the year and our hard work has paid off.

“There was only one spot available here, so I had to stay calm and trust my own game...

“I know that I am ahead of my opponents in terms of serve and receive and rally ability and I can beat them if I play to my normal standards.”

The players will continue to play on the World Table Tennis circuit before the Olympics and, while national men’s and women’s coaches Gao Ning and Jing Junhong have not set specific targets for them, they want them to showcase their A game and spring some surprises.

Besides Zeng and Quek, their teammates Zhou Jingyi and Koen Pang, who were eliminated at the group stage in Bangkok, could also make their Olympic debuts by qualifying through the world rankings at the June 18 cut-off.