Hong Kong boss sees World Team Table Tennis Championships positives despite medal drought
Li Ching happy with women reaching quarter-finals and performance of the men’s players ahead of September Asian Games
Hong Kong head coach Li Ching remained positive despite the city’s men’s and women’s teams exiting the World Team Table Tennis Championships without a medal.
The women’s team lost in the quarter-finals 3-1 to Germany on Thursday after the men were eliminated in the second round, also by the Germans, earlier in the week.
With the Asian Games looming, Li was happy to take away the positives from the London tournament, especially in light of the women’s last-eight run.
“We were very close to a medal with this young team,” Li said. “The coaches did all the preparations possible, and the players played the best they could.
“Especially in the previous two rounds [when we beat Wales and Chinese Taipei, both 3-2], each player contributed a point to a massive team win.”
Doo Hoi-kem was the first up against Germany, but the veteran threw away a two-game lead to lose 3-2 (10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4) to Sabine Winter.