Table tennis pair Chan and Yiu snatch historic gold at World University Games

Hong Kong's table tennis pair Baldwin Chan Ho-wah and Yiu Kwan-to have achieved a historic milestone by becoming the city's first gold medalists in the history of table tennis at the FISU World University Games. 

In the Men's Doubles final, the pair competed against Japanese players Shunsuke Okano and Yuma Tanigaki. The best-of-seven match commenced with the Hong Kong duo securing victories in the first three games, with scores of 11-6, 11-4, and 11-5, respectively. 

Although the Japanese team managed to win the fourth game, taking it 11-8, Chan and Yiu quickly regained their momentum and concluded the match with a decisive score of 4-1 by winning the fifth game 11-3.

The gold medal secured by Chan and Yiu marked the second gold medal from the Hong Kong team in this year's summer event. 

In recognition of their achievement, the duo will receive HK$1 million under the "Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme," which provides financial rewards to Hong Kong athletes who secure medals at significant sporting events. 

As of Thursday, Hong Kong ranked 12th in the overall medal tally at the Games held in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, having achieved two gold medals, one silver and three bronzes.

(Katrina Tong)