Paddler Yu upbeat ahead of world table tennis meet
Singapore paddler believes world No. 93 Lin Ye's inclusion will boost their medal hopes
A 3-2 loss to North Korea in the quarter-finals of the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships saw Singapore's female paddlers crash out of the biennial meet empty-handed for the first time in eight years.
But they are ready to make amends and bring a medal back this year.
Yu Mengyu, who had lost the deciding match to North Korea's Kim Song I 2-3 (5-11, 11-8, 11-3, 6-11, 7-11), is confident that the Republic's paddlers have a better medal chance at the upcoming meet in Halmstad, Sweden, from April 29 to May 6.
The 28-year-old, her teammates and Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) staff, led by chief Ellen Lee, had spent yesterday morning distributing goodie bags and interacting with residents in Jalan Kukoh.
Speaking after the session, Yu, who is ranked world No. 50, said: "The previous time, we wasted the chance to win a medal, but this time with Lin Ye, our chances are better.
"Hopefully, we can bring a medal back."
This time with Lin Ye, our chances are better. Hopefully, we can bring a medal back.Singapore’s world No. 50 Yu Mengyu, on the inclusion of world No. 93 Lin Ye for the April 29-May 6 world meet in Sweden
World No. 93 Lin, 22, was unable to take part two years ago as she had yet to fulfil the five-year residency rule set by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The China native became a Singapore citizen in 2013.
The other paddlers in the women's team are world No. 4 Feng Tianwei, 31, and youngsters Zhang Wanling, 18, and Pearlyn Koh, 16.
In previous editions of the tournament, the women's paddlers had brought home a bronze, two silvers, and a gold in 2010, when they stunned powerhouses China 3-1 in the final.
Over in Sweden, they will get a chance to avenge their defeat by India at the Commonwealth Games two weeks ago.
They were stunned by India in the team final. India's world No. 58 Manika Batra also beat both Feng and Yu en route to winning the singles gold.
STTA chief Lee believes that the team have the ability to overcome their nemesis this time.
She said: "Our coaches would've done their part to prepare the team and the team themselves would also brace themselves against India again.
"Not forgetting, we beat them in the doubles. Even if it's a team that has beaten us, we want to be able to beat them again so that is the fighting spirit that we're all advocating for."
NOT JUST INDIA
While they are determined to beat their tormentors, Yu emphasised that overcoming India is not the end game, saying: "We definitely hope that we can beat them this time, but we cannot just settle on beating India. All the other strong teams will be present as well."
Besides world No. 16 India, Singapore (8th) will also face defending champions China (1st), Russia (13th), Belarus (15th) and hosts Sweden (23rd) in Group A.
Should they advance to the knockout stages, they could find themselves facing world No. 2 Japan, who beat them 3-1 in the ITTF Team World Cup two months ago.
STTA chief Lee said complacency was the reason for the paddlers' Commonwealth Games downfall, but denied that they have fallen out of contention for medals, saying: "We cannot go to a world competition thinking that you're going to play and lose; that won't be our attitude.
"We will still be playing to win."
She has set a target of a top-eight finish for the women's team and a championship division position for the men's team, comprising veteran Gao Ning, Pang Xue Jie, Beh Kun Ting, Ethan Poh and Lucas Tan.
Poh, 19, and Beh, 16, were among the youngsters who impressed at the Commonwealth Games, while 18-year-old Tan replaces Koen Pang, 15, from the Games squad.
Gao, 35, who won two gold medals on the Gold Coast, has urged his young teammates to build on what they have learnt at the Games.
He said: "We'll continue to give our best in every competition and go in with the intention to learn."
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