TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's table tennis players, Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜) and Li Yu-jhun (李昱諄), faced a challenging match Friday (Feb. 7) at the 2025 Singapore Smash women's doubles semifinals, where they lost 0-3 to China's Wang Manyu (王曼昱) and Kuai Man (蒯曼).
The Taiwanese duo, seeded second in this tournament, could not replicate their previous year's success when they reached the finals and secured second place.
Cheng and Li, ranked fifth globally, had an impressive run leading to the semifinals. They entered the tournament with a bye in the first round, swept through the round of 16, and emerged victorious from a grueling five-game quarterfinal against the "Japan-Korea alliance" of Miyu Nagasaki (長崎美柚) and Kim Nayeong. However, the Taiwanese pair struggled in the semifinals, losing the first game 7-11 after initially tying at 4-4.
The Chinese pair dominated the second game 11-3, and despite Cheng and Li's brief lead at 8-6 in the third game, they ultimately lost 8-11 after conceding five consecutive points. The women's doubles final will feature an all-Chinese showdown between Wang Manyu and Kuai Man against Sun Yingsha (孫穎莎) and Wang Yidi (王藝迪).
Kuai Man, who turned 21 this week, has shown exceptional performance, advancing to the semifinals in women's singles and reaching the finals in both women's and mixed doubles.