Singapore Men’s Table Tennis Team beat England at the Commonwealth Games

The Singapore men’s table tennis team pulled off an unlikely upset at the Commonwealth Games against home favourites, England after a narrow 3-2 victory in the semi-finals on Monday, 1 August 2022. They will face either India or Nigeria for the gold medal match.

On paper, the England men’s team are clear favourites. England are continental heavyweights in the European table tennis fixture, often battling it out with the likes of Germany, Sweden, Portugal and France. Leading the charge for England in this Commonwealth Games, as in previous editions, was World Rank 20 Liam Pitchford, who is himself no stranger to upsetting top dogs after defeating Tokyo 2020 Mens’ Team Gold Medallist and former World #1 Xu Xin of China in the Qatar Open 2020. Joining Pitchford in the England ranks was Paul Drinkhall (World Rank 74) and Samuel Walker (World Rank 92).

A narrow 3-2 victory to Singapore

In front of a headline crowd at Birmingham’s The NEC, Singapore got off to a great start in the doubles, in a sign of things to come. Izaac Quek Yong and Pang Yew En Koen pulled off a dominant 3-0 display to defeat the England pairing of Liam Pitchford and Samuel Walker. Koen Pang’s backhand flicks from the mid-table caught the eye and caused the England duo problems which they never fully found a response to.

Paul Drinkhall then led an England fightback in the second game. It was not to be all plain sailing, though, as his opponent, Chew Zhe Yu Clarence, fought gallantly and drew blood by taking a game off Drinkhall. Clarence Chew eventually lost 3-1 to Drinkhall, but put up a tenacious display of skill and tactical mastery to cause Drinkhall significant problems.

Great performances by Koen Pang, Izaac Quek and Clarence Chew

Singapore’s young stalwart, Koen Pang, was then thrust into the spotlight, squaring off with home favourite and top professional, Liam Pitchford. In what was perhaps a coming-of-age display of technical ability and tactics, Koen was able to pull of a remarkable upset against Pitchford, prevailing 3-1. Pitchford never looked comfortable throughout and appeared most uncomfortable when Koen played long, fast balls into the tall, lanky figure of Pitchford. Unable to cope with the fast balls into the body, Pitchford capitulated to the Singaporean onslaught led by Koen Pang. Notably, this is not the first major international upset of Koen’s budding professional table tennis career. In the World Table Tennis Championships 2021 in Houston, USA, Koen upset Brazil’s Gustavo Tsuboi, before eventually losing to former World #1 and legend of the sport, Timo Boll of Germany.

Young and rising talent, Izaac Quek Yong, 16, then faced Paul Drinkhall. Expectedly, Drinkhall’s experience and skill proved too much to handle for Izaac. Drinkhall took the game 3-0 comfortably. However, Izaac demonstrated remarkable flair and talent for his tender age, and rightfully demonstrates why he remains in the top 10 of his age group category in world table tennis.

In the final and deciding game, Singapore’s stalwart, Clarence Chew, faced off against England’s Samuel Walker, eventually prevailing 3-1. Clarence looked comfortable in the first game, but then lost steam in the third game and dropped a set against Samuel Walker. Ultimately, Clarence demonstrated nerves of steel to prevail and to help the men’s team to a Commonwealth Games men’s team final.

THEY HAVE DONE IT!!! Singapore’s young team have upset all odds at the #CommonwealthGames2022 to book their place in the men’s team finals. SGP 3-2 ENG it ends. A stunning victory. pic.twitter.com/GZqozdpNO8

— Matthew Mohan (@MatthewMohanCNA) August 1, 2022

The future is bright for Singapore’s Paddlers

In a final prologue, this author stayed up to 2.30am to watch the full match. And as a budding table tennis hobby player who has only picked up the sport at a higher skill level recently, there is much to be proud of the men’s team in this edition of the Commonwealth Games. It must also be pointed out that since Tokyo 2020, it appears that the Singapore Table Tennis Association has changed tack from a wholesale reliance of foreign imports from China.

In fact, it is abundantly clear that the STTA acknowledges that the future of Singapore table tennis lies in grooming the next generation of locally born players and nurturing a stronger ecosystem and pipeline of talent. With the tactical nous and experience of coaching staff and former players like Gao Ning, and other former players, there is much to be optimistic about for the future of Singapore table tennis.

Top photos by Matthew Mohan and Singapore Table Tennis Association.

Since you have made it to the end of the article, follow Wake Up Singapore on Telegram!