Lee Ho-ching smiling again as Hong Kong stun China in mixed doubles
Debutant Lee Ho-ching cast off the disappointment of losing in the table tennis team event by partnering Jiang Tianyi in the mixed doubles to stun the top seeds from China in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Their thrilling 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-8) victory over Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng at Suwon Gymnasium not only earned them a semi-final berth but also at least a bronze medal because there is no third place play-off. It will be Hong Kong's first table tennis medal in Incheon.
They now take on Kim Min-seok and Jeon Ji-hee, of South Korea, for a place in the final. The Koreans beat Koki Niwa and Sayaka Hirano, of Japan, 3-2.
Mixed doubles is also our target as we won a medal there in Guangzhou four years ago
"They can go a step farther to reach the final if they play the same way," said head coach Chan Kong-wah. "Mixed doubles is also our target as we won a medal there in Guangzhou four years ago."
But in another quarter-final, Cheung Yuk and Jiang Huajun, silver medallists in Guangzhou, lost 3-2 to Japanese pair Seiya Kishikawa and Ai Fukuhara.
"The defeat in the women's team quarter-finals was a disaster for us as it was our medal target and we were all shattered by the result," said 21-year-old Lee, making her Asian Games debut.
"But fortunately the coaches were quick to help us regain confidence for the individual events and reminded us of the importance of securing a medal for Hong Kong.
