sports · SingTao

Wong and Chan fall short in Swedish Slam final

about 1 hour ago1 MIN
Wong and Chan fall short in Swedish Slam final

Summary

Hong Kong table tennis pair Wong Chun-ting and Chan Ho-wan returned to the WTT Swedish Grand Smash men's doubles final one year after their breakthrough title run, but their defence ended in a straight-games loss to France's Alexis Lebrun and Felix Lebrun. The Hong Kong duo were beaten 11-7, 11-8, 14-12 after a tightly contested third game in which they saved three match points before falling short

Key Points

  • Wong Chun-ting and Chan Ho-wan reached the Swedish Grand Smash men's doubles final again, repeating their run from a year earlier
  • The Hong Kong pair faced fifth seeds Alexis Lebrun and Felix Lebrun, the French brothers who were bronze medallists at the World Championships
  • In the opening game, Wong and Chan fell behind 0-4 early and eventually lost 7-11 after trailing by as many as five points
  • The second game stayed closer, but after Hong Kong led narrowly and called a timeout at 8-7, the French pair rallied to win 11-8
  • In the third game, the Hong Kong duo saved three match points before Alexis Lebrun helped seal a 14-12 win and the title

Why It Matters

The result denied Hong Kong a successful title defence in one of the sport's top events, but another run to the final still underlined the competitiveness of the Wong-Chan partnership on the international stage. For Hong Kong fans, the repeat appearance in the final offers encouragement even as the pair fell short against a seeded world-class combination