SEA Games: Local-born paddlers win men’s team gold coached by former medalist Gao Ning

SINGAPORE It was a historic win for Singapore’s table tennis team as the home-grown team claimed the gold medal after seeing off arch-rivals Malaysia 3-0 in the men’s team event at the Morodok Techo Table Tennis Hall. The last time they won a medal was when Singapore hosted the SEA Games in 2015. At the next SEA Games in 2017, Singapore won silver, and there was no team competition in 2019. In the previous SEA Games, held last year in Vietnam, Singapore settled for joint bronze. with Vietnam.

It brought back past table tennis success when Singapore, which featured both Chinese-born and local players, won seven men’s team golds between 1999 and 2015. Singapore won medals in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2015.

Citizen player Gao Ning, considered one of the best Singaporean paddlers of his time, won three gold medals in the men’s team competition. He last played in the 2017 SEA Games, winning two gold medals (men’s singles, men’s doubles) and a silver in the men’s team event. During his time, many other Chinese-born players switched allegiance to Singapore and won medals for the country. One definitely cannot forget Feng Tianwei, Yu Meng Yu and many others. Although he has since retired, Gao Ning is currently the coach of the Singapore men’s national team.

Our Singaporean table tennis players who brought home glory at the current SEA Games were Clarence Chew, Koen Pang, Izaac Quek, Beh Kun Ting and Ethan Poh. Some of these players, such as Chew and Poh, were on the same team as their coach Gao Ning, who won silver in the men’s team event at the 2017 SEA Games.

Singapore had a perfect start to the competition in Group B with Malaysia, the Philippines and Laos. Although it was not an easy match against their opponents, especially the Philippines and Malaysia, the Singapore paddlers managed to win all their round robin matches with a 3-0 victory.

In the semifinals, Singapore faced defending champion Thailand. Chew was first against Padasak Tanviriyavechakul. Chew lost his first game but did well to recover and win the next three games (8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-4). Pang was next up against Sarayut Tancharoen and although it proved to be a nerve-wracking encounter, the Singapore paddler managed to seal a 3-0 win (12-10, 11-9, 11-9). Pang didn’t have to play his match as he was awarded a walk-off win because Thailand’s Phakpoom Sanguansin had an allergy.

In the gold match, Singapore faced Malaysia. The match wasn’t exactly easy, because the silver medalist of the previous SEA Games also did everything to pursue top honors. But Chew set the tempo in the first match, winning the next three games against Leong Chee Feng after dropping the first game (8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6). In the second match, Pang also lost his first game, but won the last three games (11-4, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8).

The third match was the most exciting as it lasted five games. Singapores Quek won the first game 11-9, but Javen Choon came back strongly in the next two games to win 14-12, 13-11. Under the guidance of his coach Gao Ning on the sideline, Quek stepped up his game and won the next two decisive games 11-9, 11-7 to reclaim Singapore’s gold medal.

Finals: Malaysia vs Singapore

Match 1: Leong Chee Feng vs Clarence Chew – 11-8, 4-11, 9-11, 6-11

Match 2: Wong Qi Shen vs Koen Pang Yew En – 4-11, 11-9, 5-11, 8-11

Match 3: Javen Choong vs Izaac Quek Yong – 9-11, 14-12, 13-11, 9-11, 7-11

Semi-finals: Thailand vs Singapore

Match 1: Padasak Tanviriyavechakul vs Clarence Chew – 11-8, 4-11, 5-11, 4-11

Match 2: Sarayut Tancharoen vs Koen Pang Yew En – 10-12, 9-11, 9-11, 9,11

Match 3: Phakpoom Sanguansin vs Izaac Quek Yong – WO

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