PARALYMPICS/Cheng Ming-chih takes silver in Paralympics table tennis singles

Paris, Sept. 3 (CNA) Taiwanese para table tennis player Cheng Ming-chih (程銘志) won silver on Tuesday in the men's singles event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Cheng missed the gold after losing to Tommy Urhaug of Norway 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 9-11 in a thrilling Class TT5 men's singles final.

Cheng's coach Lin Chia-jung (林佳蓉) said that she and Cheng trained solidly and had no time off for winter and summer vacations during the last three years of preparation for this year's Paralympics.

"The hard training paid off," Lin said, noting that Cheng defeated China's Rio Paralympics gold medalist Cao Ningning (曹寧寧) in the quarterfinals and then Serbian player Mitar Palikuca in the semifinals.

However, in the gold medal match, it was Urhaug who came out on top.

Lin said despite the result being a bit disappointing, the two had done their best and "I am happy I get to coach him."

Cheng noted it was his first medal in the Paralympic men's singles TT5 event. He added that he would like to thank his coach and family for their relentless support.

Lin, in particular, was crucial to his success as she trained with him a lot and helped boost his mental toughness before the games, Cheng said.

"She has been with me for many years, and she supports me in every move I make on the court," Cheng added.

Cheng, 45, and fellow Taiwanese player Lin Yen-hung (林晏弘) won a silver medal in the men's team TT5 event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

However, Cheng did not win a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in 2021.

Cheng, who has played table tennis since he was a child and used to be a coach at an elementary school, became a national para table tennis athlete after losing his left leg in a car accident when he was 32 years old.

He was on top of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Para Table Tennis Ranking List's Men class 5 in 2020.