PHNOM PENH, May 11 — The men’s table tennis squad failed to make up for the disappointment of the national women’s camp when they too had to settle for a silver medal in the team event at the 2023 SEA Games at Morodok Table Tennis Hall this afternoon.
The 0 – 3 loss to Singapore in the final, however, equalled their achievement in the edition in Hanoi, Vietnam last year.
In today’s competition, Leong Chee Feng conceded to Singapore’s Chew Zhe Yu Clarence over four in 11 – 8, 4 – 11, 9 – 11, 6 – 11.
Second singles Wong Qi Shen failed to equalise, losing 4 – 11, 11 – 9, 5 – 11, 8 – 11 to Koen Pang Yew En while Choong Javen lost 9 – 11, 14 – 12, 13 – 11, 9 – 11, 7 – 11 to Quek Yong Izaac.
National squad head coach Beh Lee Wei said that despite the defeat he was satisfied with the performance of the men’s squad which succeeded in advancing to the final in two consecutive editions of the Games.
“It is a bit sad because we did not win the gold, but it is not easy to enter the final twice in a row. This achievement shows that our standard is the same as players from Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam,” he said.
Beh hopes the achievement of the men’s and women’s squads in winning silver medals in the team event will boost their spirits in hunting for positive results in the singles and doubles events.
Earlier this morning, the national women’s squad failed to make history by winning gold at the biennial games when they lost to defending champions Thailand 0 – 3 in the final.
However, praise should be given to the national squad line up of Karen Lyne, Alice Chang, and Tee Ai Xin who pulled off a surprise when they managed to reach the finals after 30 years in the event at this Games.
— Bernama
