OLYMPICS/Taiwan secures participation in all Paris Olympics table tennis events

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) With the release of the latest table tennis mixed-doubles rankings on Tuesday, Taiwan is guaranteed participation in all five table tennis disciplines at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

On Tuesday, after losing to French opponents Alexis Lebrun and Yuan Jianan (袁嘉楠) at the World Table Tennis Saudi Smash 2024 during the round of 16, the International Table Tennis Federation ranked Taiwanese paddlers Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) and Chen Szu-yu (陳思羽) as world No. 5 in the mixed-doubles.

The placement of the two Taiwanese table tennis players secured them a ticket to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Speaking with CNA, head coach Wu Wen-chia (吳文嘉) for Taiwan's table tennis delegation said both Lin and Chen will continue to participate in international competitions in the run-up to the Olympics to rake up points and boost their seeding.

While the participation in the mixed-doubles event was the last table tennis discipline for which Taiwan secured qualification, Lin and Chen are the first Taiwan's paddlers to be added to the Olympic delegation's roster as Taiwan's only mixed pairing.

Lin is also Taiwan's only paddler to have won an Olympic medal in table tennis at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, winning bronze for mixed-doubles with his former partner Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜).

Lin's participation means Taiwan's young table tennis prodigy will be vying against 15 other pairs for a chance to win a second medal.

Wu added that the complete list of Taiwan's table tennis players for the Paris Olympics will be confirmed in mid June when the latest world ranking are released.