Singapore Youth Paddler in Dominant Showing to Storm into Final without Dropping a Single Set
Image via World Table Tennis
27 October 2021, Lignano, Italy - Singapore paddler Izaac Quek has won the U15 Singles Title at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender Tournament held in Lignano, Italy.
Quek, who became the first Singaporean to top the Under-15 boys’ world ranking list in April this year, is currently on the second of five pit-stops with fellow youth talents Ser Lin Qian and Zhou Jingyi.
They began at the WTT Youth Star Contender in Wladyslawowo in Poland (19-23 Oct), and will continue after Ligano with further stops at Senec, Slovakia (1-7 Nov), Szombathely, Hungary (1-7 Nov) before ending off at the ITTF World Youth Championships in Portugal (2-8 Dec).
Image via World Table Tennis
Quek's inspired performances at the Lignano championships is cause for optimism for those in the Singapore Table Tennis camp, as he went through the tournament without dropping a single set en route to the final.
He defeated both Paul Dobretsberger (AUT) and Matteo Fantoni (ITA) in straight sets 3-0 in the Group Stages, before overcoming Ivan Hencl (CRO) 3-0 in the Group of 32, Lionel Jan Erik Stift (AUT) 3-0 in the Group of 16, Itay Avivi (ISR) 3-0 in the Quarter Finals, and William Bergenblock (SWE) 3-0 in the Semis to book his place in the final.
Image via World Table Tennis
Coming up against African counterpart O. Usman Ishola, Quek dropped a set but still demonstrated plenty of composure to take the match across the finish line at 3-1 to be crowned as champion.
Quek is one of several home grown rising stars for the Singapore Table Tennis Association. Earlier this year, senior paddler Clarence Chew also became the first Singaporean born male paddler to qualify for the Olympic Games.
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