Taiwan clinches bronze in World Team Table Tennis Championships

Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's male paddlers clinched bronze at the World Team Table Tennis Championships on Saturday, after losing to their French opponents 1-3 in the semifinals in Busan, South Korea.

Despite taking the lead in the beginning of the first match, Taiwanese player Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵) eventually lost to world No. 6 Felix Lebrun 1-3.

World No. 8 Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) later defeated world No. 21 Alexis Lebrun 3-0 in the second match, after overcoming a game point in the first game and making a comeback in the second.

Following Kao Cheng-jui's (高承睿) defeat by Simon Gauzy in the third match, Lin played Felix Lebrun in the fourth match.

Despite saving four game points in the second game, Lin could not extend his victory, and lost to his opponent 0-3.

The team tied with its best performance in the tournament over the past decade, which was in Tokyo in 2014.

Chuang, who participated in both events, regarded this year's tournament as an "amazing" experience, and said "we were all very happy."

Meanwhile, Taiwan has secured berths in four table tennis events at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Besides table tennis, Taiwanese athletes will also compete in shooting, swimming, athletics, boxing, canoe sprint, archery and taekwondo in the Paris Olympics.