Kenneth Chiu Chung-hei lost in the quarter-finals, but not without putting up a fight.Hong Kong failed to win any medals in the table tennis singles events of the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
Ng Ka-yee was knocked out in the second stage of the women's singles, while Kenneth Chiu Chung-hei lost in the men's singles quarter-finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
It was a heart-breaking defeat for Chiu who was beaten by Hung Tsz-hsiang from Chinese Taipei in a marathon game. Chiu went up 3-1 in the best-of-seven-sets match but dropped the next three sets, missing the chance to move on to the semi-finals. Hung won the match 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6.
Chiu said: 'It was so close. Although I lost to Hung when we met in the round of 16 at last year's Asian Youth Games in Singapore, I thought I had a chance today. It is very disappointing that I missed the ticket to the semi-finals.'
Chiu and Ng can still look forward to winning a medal in the mixed team event. The preliminary rounds of the competition began yesterday.
Meanwhile, Gu Yuting of China defeated North Korea's Kim Song-i in a tough, seven-set game to advance to the semi-finals of the women's singles. Gu will face Yang Ha-eun from South Korea in the last four.
Singapore's medal hope Clarence Chew Zhe Yu crashed out to Stefan Leitgeb from Austria in the second stage of the men's singles. Chew, who won the cadet boys' singles title at the Hong Kong Junior & Cadet Open, could not reproduce that form in front of his home crowd.