TABLE TENNIS/Taiwan's Lin, Kao lose in Singapore Smash table tennis final

Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) Taiwan's Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) and Kao Cheng-jui (高承睿) were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men's doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash.

Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong (林詩棟) and Wang Chuqin (王楚欽) of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13.

The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early on in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game.

Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take two game points and left to rue missed opportunities as Lin and Wang held their nerve to take the third game and secure victory.

Eyeing a partnership at the 2026 Asian Games, the 23-year-old Lin and his 20-year-old partner teamed up for the first time at the Singapore Smash and showed good chemistry throughout the tournament.

They topped the fifth-seeded pairing from Singapore 3-0 in the round of 16 and the second-seeded duo from Japan 3-1 in the quarterfinals before overcoming the fourth-seeded French pair of Florian Bourrassaud and Esteban Dorr on Friday to advance to face Lin and Wang in the final.

The Chinese duo, ranked first and second in the world in men's singles, also teamed up for the first time at the tournament.

Lin Yin-ju and Lin Shidong faced off first on Friday night in the men's singles quarterfinals where the Chinese table tennis player came out on top 4-1 to stop the Taiwanese prodigy in his tracks.

The US$1.5 million WTT Singapore Smash is being held at the Singapore Sports Hub until Sunday.