TABLE TENNIS/Taiwan's Lin Yun-ju finishes as men's singles runner-up at Singapore Smash

Taipei, March 2 (CNA) Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒), Taiwan's top-ranked male table tennis star, won silver in the men's singles at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Grand Smash in Singapore on Sunday.

Despite a straight-sets loss to world No. 1 Wang Chuqin (王楚欽) of China, Lin earned a place on the podium and finished with a career-best performance in a Grand Smash event.

Currently ranked world No. 8, Lin lost 3-11, 8-11, 8-11, and 9-11 to Wang in the final at the Infinity Arena in The Kallang, marking his 11th defeat in 14 head-to-head matchups with the Chinese player.

Wang established a dominant lead in the first two games, and Lin edged ahead 3-1 at one point during the third game, but Wang responded with a devastating 9-1 run that put Lin back on the defensive.

Lin's best opening came in the fourth game when he jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but Wang stormed back to reach match point at 10-8. Although Lin saved one match point to make it 10-9, he was unable to overcome the world No. 1.

Along with his second-place trophy, the 24-year-old Taiwanese, nicknamed "Silent Assassin," took home US$50,000 in prize money and secured 1,400 ranking points.

Wang, meanwhile, won his fifth WTT Grand Smash title, gaining 2,000 points and a cash prize of US$100,000.

Earlier in the day, Lin had clinched a place in the finals of the Grand Smash men's singles for the first time, after defeating world No. 5 Truls Möregårdh of Sweden 4-2 in the semifinals.

The Singapore Smash featured a field of 64 elite players in the men's singles event. Lin's world ranking is expected to rise to No. 7 when the WTT updates its list this week. The current world No. 7, Sora Matsushima of Japan, was eliminated in the Round of 16, earning only 150 points.

As of Monday morning, Matsushima was ranked No. 7 with 3,305 points, followed by Lin with 2,875.