TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's table tennis stars Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) and Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜) advanced to the quarterfinals in the singles events on Wednesday (July 31). Both players delivered stellar performances, propelling them closer to potential Olympic glory.
Lin Yun-ju faced Slovenia's Darko Jorgić, ranked 18th globally, in the round of 16. Despite Jorgić taking an early lead with four points in the first game, Lin quickly regained control. He triumphed in straight sets, winning 11-9, 12-10, 11-7, and 11-7. Lin will next compete against France's No. 3 seed, Felix Lebrun, on Thursday (Aug. 1) at 9 p.m.
Cheng I-ching, Taiwan's top female table tennis player, dominated Poland's Natalia Bajor in the round of 16. Cheng secured her quarterfinal spot by winning four consecutive sets with scores of 11-2, 11-8, 11-8, and 11-9.
Cheng will face China's top-seeded Sun Yingsha (孫穎莎) on Thursday (Aug. 1) at 10 p.m. Cheng, who previously won a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Lin at the Tokyo Olympics, is focusing solely on the women's singles event this time. If Cheng overcomes the odds and defeats Sun in the quarterfinals, it will be the best Olympic performance in the women's singles table tennis event by a Taiwan-born player.
