Taiwanese table tennis player Lin Yun-ju earned his first International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour men’s singles title, defeating two German veterans in his semi-final and final at the Czech Open in Olomouc on Sunday.
Lin, 18, took the title with a comfortable 11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 11-5, 11-9 win over world No. 11 Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the final, earning US$21,000 in prize money and soaring to new heights in his fledgling career.
“I am very happy about winning my first men’s singles title on the ITTF World Tour,” Lin told the ITTF Web site after the final.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I had come up against Boll and Ovtcharov before, so I was familiar with their playing style. My coach also helped me a lot today,” he said. “He called the timeout at a key moment in the final match and he advised me to change up my tactics and service game a little bit.”
“I don’t think that this title will change my career so much. The matches will still be just as hard from now on and possibly even harder than before,” he said.
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