Taiwanese Olympic bronze medalists Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching on Thursday lost a closely contested mixed doubles final 11-8, 14-12, 12-10 to their French opponents at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender in Doha, Qatar.
The Taiwanese world No. 1 duo and top seeds were defeated by world No. 3 and second seeds Emmanuel Lebesson and Yuan Jia Nan of France in a final that lasted 30 minutes, 40 seconds at the Lusail Sports Arena.
Lin and Cheng, who defeated Lebesson and Yuan in their three previous matches, were up against it after losing the first game 11-8.
Photo courtesy of World Table Tennis
Although the top seeds rallied in the second game to give themselves a chance of drawing level, the French pairing were too strong on crucial points and edged the game 14-12.
In the third game, the Taiwanese duo took an early 6-3 lead, but then fell behind 7-8.
The French pairing continued to force the tempo and Lebesson drove the ball deep into the back corner and onto the backhand of Cheng, forcing an error.
With Lebesson and Yuan at 10-8, Lin and Cheng saved two match points, creating an opportunity to get back into the match, but the French pair were too strong and took the next two points to win the match in straight games.
After the match, a happy Lebesson and Yuan expressed their excitement at defeating the world No. 1 pairing.
“We lost a few times against them and so to be able to win against them tonight in a final is simply amazing,” Lebesson said.
The Taiwanese pairing defeated the French duo at the Tokyo Olympics last year to clinch the bronze medal, Taiwan’s first Olympic table tennis medal in 21 years.
After the Olympics, Lin and Cheng went on to secure a bronze medal at the WTT Championships in Houston in November, before losing the final of the WTT Singapore Smash last month and claiming the title at the WTT Contender tournament in Doha on Thursday last week.
In the semi-finals of the women’s singles, Taiwan’s Chen Szu-yu was overwhelmed 12-10, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 by Miyuu Kihara of Japan in a match that lasted 31 minutes, 11 seconds.
World No. 27 Chen seemed to have difficulty finding her rhythm and was always chasing the match, allowing the Japanese world No. 44 to maintain her composure and secure the win.
The Japanese 17-year-old went on to claim the title by defeating Ying Han of Germany 8-11, 12-10, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-1 in the final.
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