Hong Kong, China's table tennis stars wrapped up their campaign at the Europe Smash in Sweden with three runner-up finishes, all coming in the doubles events.

The men's doubles final saw Wong Chun-ting and Baldwin Chan suffer a straight-games defeat to French brothers Alexis and Felix Lebrun, falling 7-11, 8-11, 12-14.

The Hong Kong pair, who were eager to retain their title, mounted a resilient challenge but were ultimately overpowered by the Lebruns, who secured their second World Table Tennis Grand Smash crown.

The SAR duo's run included victories over pairs from Japan, Germany, and Brazil, as well as a bye in the round of 32.

Meanwhile, in the women's doubles final, Doo Hoi-kem and Ng Wing-lam went head-to-head with Japan's Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata, ultimately losing 1-3.

The top-seeded Japanese team took the opening game comfortably at 11-6, but Hong Kong hit back to claim the second 11-9.

Despite a spirited fight in the subsequent games, Doo and Ng narrowly lost the third 11-13 and the fourth 9-11, finishing as runners-up.

Along the way, they secured wins against opponents from South Korea, the national team, and Sweden, and also enjoyed a bye in the opening round.

In the mixed doubles event, the veteran partnership of Wong and Doo faced the third-seeded national team duo of Lin Shidong and Kuai Man — one seeding position above the SAR pair, who were ranked fourth.

The Hong Kong team made a flying start, taking the first game 11-4, but Lin and Kuai responded with a dominant turnaround, clinching the next three games 11-6, 11-3, and 11-6 to take the title.

Each runner‑up pair in the doubles events receives just over US$6,000 and 1,400 ranking points.



Edited by Tony Sabine