A GOOD CAMPAIGN ENDS

Singapore's Pang, Quek ousted in WTT Finals last four by world No. 6 pair

- David Lee

Their fairy-tale run at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Finals may have ended, but the partnership of Koen Pang and Izaac Quek promises more exciting chapters, with Pang seeing "a lot of room for improvement".

On Nov 22, the Singaporean duo lost 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 to world No. 6 Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka in the men's doubles semifinals of the US$700,000 (S$944,000) season-ending tournament in Fukuoka, Japan.

The home favourites will play world No. 2 Alexis and Felix Lebrun in the final on Nov 23. The French siblings beat teammates Florian Bourrassaud and Esteban Dorr 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 in the other semi-final.

Earlier, world No. 10 Pang and Quek had created a seismic shock at the Kitakyushu General Gymnasium when they swept China's world No. 1 and defending champions Yuan Licen and Xiang Peng in the opening round on Nov 20.

However, they were not able to repeat their giant-slaying feat despite a rousing start in which they led 6-0 in the opener.

Pang impressed with his fluid strokes while Quek also pulled off lovely blocks. But after they came back from 2-7 down in the second game to lead 8-7, the Japanese duo rallied to take control and win the second and third games.