SILVER GIVES MOTIVATION

Pang and Quek win S'pore's first Asian c'ship men's doubles medal in 11 years

- Kimberly Kwek

Even though they were defeated in the Asian Table Tennis Championships final on Oct 12, Singapore's Koen Pang and Izaac Quek had much to be proud of after ending the nation's 11-year medal drought in the men's doubles.

In the final at the Beeline Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan, world No. 15 pair Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun from South Korea proved too strong for 16th-ranked Pang and Quek, who lost 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-6).

The last time Singapore won a men's doubles medal at the continental event was in 2013, when Gao Ning and Yang Zi took bronze in their title defence in Busan.

On the final, Quek, 18, said: "The opponents are really strong but I think we did have our chances to make the score even closer. We tried our best and gave it our all and I think overall we are still satisfied with the result."

Lim - who had won back-to-back silvers at the past two world championships with compatriot Jang Woo-jin - and An wasted no time against the Singaporeans, clinching the first game 11-6.

When they returned to the court, things were neck-and-neck, with the Singaporeans taking a brief lead at 4-3.

But with the score at 6-6, the South Koreans began to pull away and secured the second game.