Young paddlers finish with a flourish
Singapore's paddlers won five gold medals on the final day of the South-east Asian (SEA) Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships at Toa Payoh Sports Hall yesterday.
Victories in the cadet boys' singles, junior mixed doubles, junior girls' singles and doubles, and junior boys' singles categories took Singapore's gold medal tally to eight after four days of competition.
Singapore won a total of 18 medals, including five silvers and five bronzes.
In the junior girls' singles, Zermaine Lew defeated teammate Eunice Lim 4-3 in a tightly contested final to clinch the gold.
The 17-year-old said: "I feel delighted to have gotten this result.
"I know Eunice's playing style well so it was difficult to play against her.
"I'm glad we both played to challenge for the gold."
Ethan Poh edged out Lucas Tan 4-2 to seal gold in the junior boys' singles.
The 18-year old said: "I'm ecstatic because I've waited so long for this moment.
"I've played against Lucas in many finals and I thank him for this memorable match.
"I didn't expect to win the gold. I just wanted to play without regrets."
The Ngee Ann Polytechnic student hopes to pursue table tennis beyond the junior level.
He said: "It's my final year (as a junior) so I wanted to do my best.
"My ambition is to represent Singapore at the Olympics and get a medal."
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