Paddlers Do Us Proud At International Tournaments
2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships (28 Sep – 5 Oct), Doha, Qatar
World Table Tennis Youth Star Contender 2021 (19 – 23 Oct), Wladyslawowo, Poland
World Table Tennis Youth Contender 2021 (24 – 30 Oct), Lignano, Italy
It was a significant moment for 15-year-old Izaac Quek Yong on 26 October 2021 when he punched above his weight to secure the U15 Boys’ Singles title at the World Table Tennis Youth Contender 2021 in Italy. The Secondary 3 paddler took on Nigeria's Usman Ishola Okanlawon to cap a convincing win 3-1 (11-5, 13-15, 11-3, 11-3) in the final. Izaac, an alumnus of Ai Tong School, topped the U15 world ranking list in April, and also finished top 16 in the U17 Boys’ Singles event.
In the same tournament, fellow Secondary 3 paddler Ser Lin Qian took the U15 Girls’ Singles title after defeating Ireland’s Earley Sophie with a score of 3-2, while Secondary 4 paddler Zhou Jingyi put up a strong fight at the U17 and U19 Girls’ Singles events where she finished joint 3rd and 2nd place respectively. Both Lin Qian and Jingyi are alumnae of Nanyang Primary School, having joined Sports School in 2019 and 2018 respectively.
The tournament, which was held from 24 to 30 October, is the trio’s second stop out of their four WTT Youth Contender tournaments. Their first stop was at Poland where Izaac finished the U15 Boys’ Singles event in joint third position at the World Table Tennis Youth Star Contender 2021 from 19 to 23 October. They will be heading towards the last two stops of the WTT Youth Contender at Slovakia and Hungary from 1 to 7 November. Lin Qian and Izaac will also be continuing their expedition to Portugal where they have both qualified for the 2021 World Youth Championships scheduled to take place from 2 to 8 December.
Prior to this, Jingyi was also part of the all Sports School women’s team at the 2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships held from 28 September to 5 October in Doha. The all Sports School women’s team comprised past student-athletes Lin Ye, Wong Xin Ru, Goi Rui Xuan, Zhang Wanling, and Jingyi herself. The team, led by Lin Ye, defended their bronze medal from the previous edition in 2019, but was bowed out 3-0 after a strong fight against a higher-ranked South Korea.
World Table Tennis Youth Star Contender 2021 (19 – 23 Oct), Wladyslawowo, Poland
World Table Tennis Youth Contender 2021 (24 – 30 Oct), Lignano, Italy
It was a significant moment for 15-year-old Izaac Quek Yong on 26 October 2021 when he punched above his weight to secure the U15 Boys’ Singles title at the World Table Tennis Youth Contender 2021 in Italy. The Secondary 3 paddler took on Nigeria's Usman Ishola Okanlawon to cap a convincing win 3-1 (11-5, 13-15, 11-3, 11-3) in the final. Izaac, an alumnus of Ai Tong School, topped the U15 world ranking list in April, and also finished top 16 in the U17 Boys’ Singles event.
In the same tournament, fellow Secondary 3 paddler Ser Lin Qian took the U15 Girls’ Singles title after defeating Ireland’s Earley Sophie with a score of 3-2, while Secondary 4 paddler Zhou Jingyi put up a strong fight at the U17 and U19 Girls’ Singles events where she finished joint 3rd and 2nd place respectively. Both Lin Qian and Jingyi are alumnae of Nanyang Primary School, having joined Sports School in 2019 and 2018 respectively.
The tournament, which was held from 24 to 30 October, is the trio’s second stop out of their four WTT Youth Contender tournaments. Their first stop was at Poland where Izaac finished the U15 Boys’ Singles event in joint third position at the World Table Tennis Youth Star Contender 2021 from 19 to 23 October. They will be heading towards the last two stops of the WTT Youth Contender at Slovakia and Hungary from 1 to 7 November. Lin Qian and Izaac will also be continuing their expedition to Portugal where they have both qualified for the 2021 World Youth Championships scheduled to take place from 2 to 8 December.
Prior to this, Jingyi was also part of the all Sports School women’s team at the 2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships held from 28 September to 5 October in Doha. The all Sports School women’s team comprised past student-athletes Lin Ye, Wong Xin Ru, Goi Rui Xuan, Zhang Wanling, and Jingyi herself. The team, led by Lin Ye, defended their bronze medal from the previous edition in 2019, but was bowed out 3-0 after a strong fight against a higher-ranked South Korea.
For Jingyi, the tournaments in Doha are valuable opportunities that she did not take for granted. She said, “I was really excited and happy to know that I finally have the chance to not only compete internationally, but also in the open category. Prior to the competitions, my coaches tried to improve my skills and weaknesses by increasing the training intensity. We also did pre-match analysis to prepare me physically and mentally against stronger opponents.”
Speaking of her experience, she shared, “The most memorable experience from the tournaments was being able to meet and play against some of the big stars. These experiences have shown me the areas that I am lacking in and inspired me to improve myself. This also makes me more confident that I will be able to improve faster in the correct pathway towards the Southeast Asian Games next year.”
RESULTS
2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships (28 Sep – 5 Oct), Doha, Qatar
Women’s Teams
Joint 3rd – Goi Rui Xuan, Lin Ye, Wong Xin Ru, Zhang Wanling, Zhou Jingyi
World Table Tennis Youth Star Contender 2021 (19 – 23 Oct), Wladyslawowo, Poland
U15 Boys’ Singles
Joint 3rd – Izaac Quek Yong
World Table Tennis Youth Contender 2021 (24 – 30 Oct), Lignano, Italy
U15 Boys’ Singles
1st – Izaac Quek Yong
U15 Girls’ Singles
1st – Ser Lin Qian
U17 Girls’ Singles
Joint 3rd – Zhou Jingyi
U19 Girls’ Singles
2nd – Zhou Jingyi
