Hong Kong, China will leave the Asian Games table tennis competition with a medal after Doo Hoi-kem and Pedrey Ng secured women’s doubles bronze on Monday.

The SAR duo’s run ended in the semifinals, where they fell 0-4 to Japan’s Hina Hayata and Miwa Harimoto, the World No. 1 women’s doubles pair.

Doo and Ng started strongly in the opener, opening up a four-point lead, but the Japanese pair recovered to win it 11-6.

The next two games went Japan’s way 11-5, 11-4, and although the Hong Kong pair briefly led in the fourth and levelled at 5-5, the Japanese aces pulled clear to seal the match 11-6 and a place in the final.

Because the tournament does not hold a third-place playoff, Doo and Ng shared bronze honours with Thailand’s pair, who lost to the national team in the other semifinal.

Ng later said in a TV interview that she was thrilled with the medal, particularly since her family had flown to Japan to watch her compete.

"It was such a surprise to win this medal, given that it was my first time competing at the Asian Games," she said.

"I am really happy because I gave myself a lot of pressure before we started competing. After all that, we were able to win the bronze. I feel so happy and relieved."

Doo, a veteran of the SAR table tennis team, said the pair’s close friendship had strengthened their doubles play.

"We are able to talk about a lot of different topics together, especially when it comes to table tennis," she said.

"I am so happy that we are able to collaborate in the doubles. Instead of saying I am leading Pedrey, I think she brings a lot of strengths that push us both to improve."



Edited by Tony Sabine