Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London.
The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches.
The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory.
Photo: Reuters
Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7) win against Kallberg, before Elias Ranefur beat Feng Yi-hsin 3-1 (7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-5) and Moregard downed Kuo 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 12-10).
Taiwan beat Serbia 3-0 and Denmark 3-0 on their way to the quarters.
The others in Taiwan’s squad in London — led by Lin and built around the roster set to compete at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September and October — are Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia.
The result at OVO Arena Wembley guaranteed Taiwan at least a bronze medal and secured the team’s second consecutive podium finish at the tournament.
Taiwan claimed bronze in 2024, when Lin teamed up with veteran Chuang Chih-yuan and young phenom Kao Cheng-jui among others.
Speaking after the match, Lin said that Thursday’s result exceeded the team’s expectations because it had initially targeted only a quarter-finals appearance.
“I think our mentality was very good today, especially in key moments when we were still able to play steadily,” Lin told reporters.
He also praised the team atmosphere, saying everyone encouraged each other regardless of whether they played.
“I’m very happy that everyone won together,” he said.
After undergoing a generational transition, the men’s team have matched the best result in their history.
Today they face Japan, led by world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto, for a place in the final and a shot at improving on their best result.
Taiwan lost to Japan 3-0 in the preliminary group round, but Lin was hoping for the best.
“Now that we have secured a medal, we’ll see if we can go one step further,” he said.
In the women’s event, Taiwan defeated Puerto Rico 3-2 in the round of 32 on Tuesday, but lost 3-2 against Hong Kong in the next round on Wednesday.
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