Tough battle, but local table tennis players ready for fight at S’pore Smash
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World Table Tennis match officials manager Tina Crotta (left), Ser Lin Qian (centre) of Singapore and China's Sun Yingsha at the draw for Singapore Smash at Resorts World Sentosa on Feb 20.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
- The WTT Singapore Smash, a US$1.55 million Grand Smash table tennis event, takes place at OCBC Arena from Feb 19 to March 1, featuring top international and local players.
- Many Singaporean paddlers, including Zeng Jian and Izaac Quek, face tough draws against top-seeded international players in the event.
- Despite difficult matchups, local players are determined to play their best on home ground, learn and enjoy the support.
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SINGAPORE – As the Republic welcomes the world’s top table tennis players in the Year of the Fire Horse, some of its home hopefuls are bracing for a fiery battle when the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash
Singapore’s top-ranked women’s singles player, world No. 33 Zeng Jian, had the worst luck of the draw conducted at the Resorts World Sentosa on Feb 20. The 29-year-old veteran will face China’s second-seeded Wang Manyu in the first round.
The US$1.55 million (S$1.97 million) event, which will be held at The Kallang’s OCBC Arena, is the first Grand Smash event of 2026 on WTT’s calendar.
Zeng, whose current ranking is her highest in eight years, remained cool despite the tough draw. She said: “I don’t really have any opinion on the draw, but I’ll just play my usual game and try to learn as much as possible.”
Teammate and men’s singles world No. 143 Izaac Quek, who won three golds at the recent SEA Games, will also face an uphill challenge against seventh-ranked Sora Matsushima of Japan. World No. 181 Koen Pang will play Germany’s 22nd-ranked Patrick Franziska, while Josh Chua (243rd) faces Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (38th).
Pang, 23, said: “It’s definitely a hard draw but I am excited to play against him (Franziska) as he is a top player and there are many things for me to learn playing against him.”
Pang and partner Quek, who are the Republic’s highest-ranked doubles duo at world No. 4, can expect a smoother ride early in the men’s doubles, after they received a bye into the round of 32.
They will face either Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes and Santiago Lorenzo, or Japan-Korea pair Yukiya Uda and Oh Jun-sung next. However, a potential matchup against Hong Kong’s world No. 1 pair Wong Chun Ting and Baldwin Chan awaits the Singaporeans in the quarter-finals.
It was not all doom and gloom for Team Singapore, with some players getting a relatively easier draw. In the women’s singles, Tan Zhao Yun (157th) will face a qualifier, and Ser Lin Qian (126th) will take on Canada’s 58th-ranked Mo Zhang.
Ser, who won two bronzes and a silver at the Thailand SEA Games, said: “Being able to play on home ground is always a very rare opportunity and I really treasure it a lot.
“I just hope I can play my best and really just enjoy the game with the crowd cheering for me and not have any regrets.
“Regardless of the draw, I believe all us (Singaporean players) will really play our best on court, and no matter which opponent we will face, anything is possible… Zeng Jian has been playing really well recently and I believe she will be prepared and put up a really, really good fight and the results will show.”
China’s world No. 1 and defending champion Sun Yingsha returns to the OCBC Arena in a bid for a hat-trick of singles titles after her triumphs in 2023 and 2025. Fans will also be looking forward to a mouth-watering rematch between Sun and teammate Wang, after the top two women players’ last clash at the recent Asian Cup ended with the former claiming gold.
Sun, who will play a qualifier in the first round, said: “I always approach every new tournament with a fresh, new mindset. But personally, I love competing here in Singapore, because the way Singapore Smash is organised is something I really enjoy, from the food to the environment, even the air here is good.
“We meet the world’s strongest competition here at the Singapore Smash, so I will not rest on my laurels. Thankfully, I recovered fast enough from my last tournament, so I am looking forward to approaching each and every match with a fresh, new mindset.”
China’s men’s singles and doubles defending champion Lin Shidong will face Japan’s 33rd-ranked Hiroto Shinozuka in the first round, with top-ranked Wang Chuqin – who will go up against Australia’s Finn Luu (39th) – a potential obstacle in the semi-finals.
Third-seeded Lin said: “I always look forward to coming back to Singapore. In fact, I’ve been here four times, and every time I’m here to compete, I always have a great time and produce great results.
“So I’m hoping that I can continue my lucky streak here at this year’s Singapore Smash.”
Other Singaporeans in action on Feb 22 include women’s singles wild card Loy Ming Ying (224th), who will face Romania’s world No. 30 Elizabeta Samara in the round of 64.
In the men’s doubles, wild cards Chua and Clarence Chew will face Slovaks Lubomir Pistej and Jakub Zelinka, while Loy Xing Yao and Ellsworth Le – who also received wild cards – will play Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz and Mohamed Elbeiali.
Chloe Lai and Loy Ming Ying will take on compatriots Janelle Chiang and Chong Zi Sian in the women’s doubles, while Zeng and Ser will face Egyptians Hana Goda and Dina Meshref in their first outing as a duo.
