Taiwanese Olympians Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching on Saturday settled for a silver medal in the mixed doubles category at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Muscat competition after losing to their Japanese opponents.
The world No. 9 duo fell to Japan’s Satoshi Aida and Hitomi Sato 9-11, 5-11, 6-11 in the final, missing what would have been their second title of the season.
Lin and Cheng won the mixed doubles title at the WTT Star Contender London competition on Oct. 26.
Photo courtesy of the World Table Tennis
Despite being seeded third in the 16-pair mixed doubles field in Oman, the Taiwanese duo struggled against the Japanese pair, both of whom are defensive specialists known for their chopping style.
Although Aida and Sato are ranked outside the world’s top 100 and rarely team up, they advanced from the qualifiers all the way to the main draw and ultimately secured the championship.
In the opening game, Lin and Cheng trailed 0-3 early, but managed to narrow the gap to 6-7 before a fortunate edge ball from the Japanese side halted their momentum, allowing Aida and Sato to take the game.
The Taiwanese pair started the second game strongly with a 4-1 lead, but a series of unforced errors and continued difficulty handling their opponents’ chopping shots shifted the momentum.
Aida also surprised with several decisive backhand counterattacks, helping the Japanese team reel off a 10-1 run to claim a two-game lead.
In the third game, Lin and Cheng again found themselves on the defensive, falling behind 1-7. Lin’s four consecutive powerful returns helped narrow the gap to 5-7, but a rare attacking error from Cheng at the net opened the door for a 4-1 surge from their opponents, sealing the match.
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