CLEAN SWEEP IS NEXT AFTER DOUBLES DOUBLE

The future of Chinese table tennis is on display at the ongoing Singapore Smash, giving fans at the OCBC Arena the opportunity to catch two of its rising young stars Lin Shidong, 19 and Kuai Man, 21.

- Melvyn Teoh

On Feb 8, Lin and Kuai clinched gold medals in the men's and women's doubles respectively at the US$1.5 million (S$2.03 million) tournament to add to their mixed doubles title from a day earlier. The duo are on track for a clean sweep of titles on Feb 9, when they compete in the finals of the men's and women's singles.

Lin's meteoric rise to world No. 2 is no surprise to insiders. Aged 10, he was the youngest athlete in the Hainan provincial team and a year later, he was the youngest to compete in the national championships.

In 2022, he was selected for the national team and last August, travelled to the Paris Olympics as a sparring partner and the youngest member of China's delegation.

He was unstoppable in 2024, winning his first World Table Tennis (WTT) singles title at the WTT Champions Macao by beating teammate and world No. 1 Wang Chuqin.

A month later, he beat six-time Olympic champion Ma Long in the China Smash final, before clinching another title in Frankfurt.

Despite being touted as one of the next generation of table tennis stars, Lin is unfazed.

He said: "We are still quite young and considered the 'new generation', so we will just continue to work hard and try to win.