Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash.
Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13.
The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game.
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju, left, and Kao Cheng-jui return to China’s Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin during their men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash.
Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take two game points and left to rue missed opportunities as Lin and Wang held their nerve to take the third game and secure victory.
Eyeing a partnership at the 2026 Asian Games, the 23-year-old Lin and his 20-year-old partner teamed up for the first time at the Singapore Smash and showed good chemistry throughout the tournament.
They topped the fifth-seeded pairing from Singapore 3-0 in the round of 16 and the second-seeded duo from Japan 3-1 in the quarter-finals before overcoming the fourth-seeded French pair of Florian Bourrassaud and Esteban Dorr on Friday to advance to face Lin and Wang in the final.
The Chinese duo, ranked first and second in the world in men’s singles, also teamed up for the first time at the tournament.
Lin Yin-ju and Lin Shidong faced off first on Friday night in the men’s singles quarter-finals where the Chinese table tennis player came out on top 4-1 to stop the Taiwanese prodigy in his tracks.
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said