SINGAPORE – Going into his round-of-32 clash against Felix Lebrun at the Singapore Smash on Feb 4, Chinese Taipei’s Kao Cheng-jui’s goal was just to win one game.
Their past three encounters had all gone the world No. 5 Lebrun’s way and Kao was expecting yet another tough match against the Frenchman.
But the 24th-ranked table tennis player surprised himself at the OCBC Arena, coming from behind twice to beat Olympic bronze medallist Lebrun 3-2 (4-11, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9) and book his spot in the next round.
The 20-year-old said: “The previous three times it was very close and I thought it was going to be difficult to beat him because he’s very strong.
“My goal before today was to just win one game, but I won the match and it’s a dream.”
Lebrun, 18, got off to a strong start, claiming the first game in 10 minutes, but a change of tactics in the second game allowed Kao to level proceedings.
It was a close third game, but Lebrun’s experience allowed him to edge his opponent 11-9.
The fierce battle continued in the fourth game as Kao led 10-8 and Lebrun saved two game points for a deuce, but the former held on to force a decider.
While Lebrun raced to a 5-1 lead in the final game, Kao regained his composure and clawed back to 8-8, before sealing his first victory over the Frenchman in 38 minutes.
A bronze medallist at the 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships, Kao will face South Korean world No. 13 Jang Woo-jin in the round of 16.
He said: “I never gave up and I wanted to try and give everything in this game. I’m very happy that I could come back.”
Kao’s win was not the only upset of the day, with Macau’s Zhu Yuling also beating Japan’s 12th seed 3-0 (11-8, 15-13, 11-3) in the women’s round of 32.
The former Chinese world No. 1, who now plays under Macau’s flag after making a comeback from retirement, will play Japan’s Satsuki Odo next.
While the upsets delivered entertainment for the fans in the OCBC Arena, it was business as usual for the tournament’s top seeds on Feb 4. Women’s singles defending champion and world No. 2 Wan Manyu beat Chinese Taipei’s Chien Tung-Chuan 3-1 (14-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3) in a closely-fought encounter and she will face compatriot Kuai Man in the second round.
Men’s singles defending champion and top-ranked Wang Chuqin also progressed to the second round with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-8) rout of Singa...