Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) yesterday failed in his bid to claim a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, as the 19-year-old rising star lost a nail-biting men’s singles bronze medal match 4-3 to Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
It was history repeating itself, after Ovtcharov once again denied Taiwan its first ever Olympic table tennis medal in men’s singles.
The teenage table tennis sensation had his chances in the best-of-seven bronze medal match, garnering four match points in a dramatic sixth game, but the Kiev-born German saved all of them and blunted another rally in the final game for a 13-11, 9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 4-11, 15-13, 11-7 triumph in 66 minutes.
Photo: AFP
Taiwan’s previous best finish in Olympic men’s singles had been nine years earlier in London, when Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵) lost a six-game heartbreaker in the bronze medal match to Ovtcharov, 14-12 in the final game.
Lin had a better chance to break the dry spell, but he lamented his inability to convert any of his four match points.
“I didn’t feel especially nervous, but I know I didn’t play some of those points right,” Lin said.
Photo: AFP
The “Silent Assassin,” as he is known because of his calm under pressure, struggled out of the gate in the final game, falling behind 9-3.
“By that point, the momentum had shifted to my opponent, and all I could do was try to catch up one point at a time,” he said.
He rallied for four straight points to pull within 9-7, but Ovtcharov closed out the match when Lin hit a backhand into the net.
“All I can do now is go home and figure out how to get better,” Lin said.
His coach Chiang Peng-lung (蔣澎龍) said that Lin was outstanding in his first Olympic appearance, in which the world No. 6 teenager nearly defeated world No. 1 Fan Zhendong (樊振東) of China in the semi-finals.
Chiang felt Lin did tighten up in the latter stages of yesterday’s match, because he wanted to win too much, but that would change with experience, he said.
“He has a big opportunity in the future, and will now look toward the 2024 Olympics in Paris,” Chiang said.
Ovtcharov praised Lin for pushing him to the brink. Asked about taking bronze from Taiwan for a second time in nine years, Ovtcharov said that Chuang is a good friend and Lin is a teammate of his at his European club, but in the end, the Olympics are a competition.
He had no doubt that Lin would break through.
“He will definitely win a medal one day,” the German said.
Additional reporting by AFP
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS