Singapore’s male paddlers fought hard and gave it their all but despite their valiant efforts, they could not find their way past 12th ranked Slovenia in their second match of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024 in Busan, Korea on Saturday.
Izaac Quek, 17, lost to world number 15, Darko Jorgic, 11-13, 11-8, 13-15, 7-11 in the first singles.
Koen Pang, 21, however, levelled things up for Singapore in the second singles when he beat Deni Kozul in straight sets, 15-13, 11-6, 11-7.
Slovenia then took a 2-1 lead when Clarence Chew, 28, could not find a way past Peter Hribar, falling to a 12-14, 9-11, 11-6, 6-11 defeat.
With Singapore staring at defeat, it was left to Pang to try and force a fifth and deciding set. However, Jorgic once again showed why he is ranked among the world’s elite players as Pang lost 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11.
