Story by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports. Photos by Lee Jian Wei and Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports
Gao Ning and Li Hu of Singapore in action. The pair clinched Singapore’s second gold medal after a 4–0 victory over Thailand. (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 — Paddlers Gao Ning, Li Hu, Lin Ye and Zhou Yihan defeated their respective opponents in their doubles events to clinch the Republic’s first gold medals in the table tennis competition at the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
In the men’s final, Gao and Li overcame a spirited third-set effort from Thailand’s Padasak Tanviriyavechakul and Chanakarn Udomsilp to beat them 4–0.
“It feels very good to win a gold medal for Singapore at home,” said Li in Mandarin.
Gao added, “Including the Thai team, everyone has been training and improving themselves every year, and likewise, we have to remain determined and mentally prepared.”
The Thai duo had earlier defeated Chen Feng and Clarence Chew 4–3 in the semi-final, forcing the Singaporeans to settle for the bronze as there was no bronze medal playoff game.
Lin and Zhou overcame fellow compatriots Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu 4–3 in a tightly contested women’s final to clinch the gold, while Feng and Yu settled for the silver medal.
“We are very honoured to win Singapore her first gold medal, but we didn’t expect to beat our fellow teammates,” said Zhou.
Lin added, “We are both younger so there wasn’t much pressure and we just gave it our best shot.”
“Both sides did fairly well today, but I think they (Lin and Zhou) performed better, so congratulations to them both for winning the final,” said Feng.
“We usually hold the advantage in our usual match-ups but today, they had a better execution than us. Also, there was a little bit of pressure and we were slightly slower to adapt to the changes on the playing field.”
Yu added, “We’re not disappointed because we’re all Singaporeans and teammates and we’re really happy for them both.”
Doubles Results
Men’s Final
Gao Ning/Li Hu (SIN) 4 Padasak Tanviriyavechakul/Chanakarn Udomsilp (THA) 0
(11–8, 11–8, 12–10, 11–4)
Women’s Final
Feng Tianwei/Yu Mengyu (SIN) 3 Lin Ye/Zhou Yihan (SIN) 4
(11–7, 5–11, 8–11, 10–12, 11–3, 12–10, 7–11)
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