Tagged as the underdogs in the Olympic qualifying campaign, the national men's table tennis team of Izaac Quek, Clarence Chew and Koen Pang got off to a smashing start at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan on Feb 16.
The world No. 22 Singaporeans upset their eighth-ranked group opponents Brazil 3-0 in their opening Group 7 match - though the latter were missing their highest-ranked player Hugo Calderano (No. 7).
World No. 24 Canada defeated Malaysia (No. 70) 3-2 in the other Group 7 clash on Feb 16.
Pang, 21, said: "It is a good start for all of us, and we beat them without dropping (a match) so that is a good sign as well. We saw that he (Calderano) wasn't in the name list that Brazil put out, so we just prepared for the rest. The three of us are playing at a good level and definitely if we want to win tomorrow against Slovenia, we will have to play as good, if not even better."
This story is from the February 17, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the February 17, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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