Taiwan's Chuang clinches silver at Asian Table Tennis Championships

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) Taiwan table tennis player Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵) won a silver medal in the men's singles at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Doha, Qatar Tuesday.

It was Taiwan's second silver medal at the championship, after the men's team lost in the final to South Korea on Oct. 1.

The 40-year-old veteran reached the final after beating South Korea's Jang Woo-jin 6-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-9 in their semifinal match earlier that day to meet another South Korean player, 31-year-old Lee Sang-su.

Lee bested Chuang 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 to win the champion title.

At the tournament, Taiwanese players have achieved the country's best performance at an Asian Championship in more than two decades.

The men's team equaled their best ever result, while Chuang became the first Taiwanese player to reach the men's singles finals since 2000.

On the women's side, although the pairing of Cheng Hsien-tzu (鄭先知) and Liu Hsing-yin (劉馨尹) lost their semifinal match against a duo from Hong Kong, their third-place finish in women's doubles was the best result in the event since 1996.

China has chosen not to send a team to the event as a result of COVID-19 related traveling restrictions.