Feng, Yu crash out at World Championships semis

SINGAPORE — The Singapore national table tennis team ended their 2015 World Table Tennis Championships campaign in China yesterday with only a bronze medal to their name, after women’s doubles pair Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu crashed out of the semi-finals.

The Singaporeans lost 4-1 (9-11,11-9,11-6,11-7,11-4) to eventual winners Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling of China at the Suzhou International Expo Centre. Losing semi-finalists of the championship share the bronze, as there is no playoff for third place.

The other semi-final was won by another Chinese pair, Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia, who beat the Netherlands Li Jie and Poland’s Li Qian 11-5,11-2,11-7,11-6.

It was a second defeat in China for world No 4 Feng, who is nursing a recurring knee injury, after she crashed out in the women’s singles quarter-finals last Friday, losing 4-0 to China’s Mu Zi.

Despite her losses, Singapore national women’s head coach Jing Junhong said Feng is experienced enough to pick herself up before the SEA Games from June 5 to 16.

“Tianwei’s confidence is still intact and I thought that her performance in the women’s doubles with Mengyu has been outstanding,” said Jing. “But she has been under a lot of pressure as she is constantly in the spotlight and this has caused her to make some mistakes.”

Feng and 25-year-old Yu will return to Singapore today and continue preparations for the SEA Games. Both are scheduled to play in the team and double events at the Games, and their respective singles and mixed doubles events. Yu is also not fully fit, nursing a back injury, and Jing reiterated Singapore’s top women’s pair are racing to recover to do battle at the biennial event.

“It is not possible for them to recover 100 per cent by the time SEA Games start. This is the struggle that athletes have to face sometimes ahead of important competitions,” added the coach.

“There is a lot of pressure on the national paddlers to win all the table tennis gold medals at the SEA Games, and from by their performance at the World Championships, I am very confident they are on track to achieving a good result for Singapore.” ADELENE WONG