Heartbreak for pairs

Michael Shum and Stacy Shi

Hong Kong's Wong Chun-ting and Doo Hoi-kem were unable to overcome second-seeded South Korean pair Lim Jong Hoon and Shin Yu Bin in table tennis' mixed doubles bronze medal match and settled for fourth place in the Paris Olympics.

Wong and Doo earlier missed a ticket to the final after a seven-game semifinal thriller against North Korea's Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong.

In the bronze medal match, the fourth-seeded Hong Kong pair could not resist the fierce attack or keep up with the fast tempo of the South Koreans and fell 2-0 down after the first two games.

Their attempt at a comeback was foiled by multiple unforced errors and they were beaten in four straight sets 4-0.

It was still Hong Kong's best results in the mixed doubles.

Wong and Doo will receive HK$1.5 million each under the Hong Kong Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme.

Young shuttlers Lianne Yeung Nga-ting and Yeung Pui-lam were stopped in the group stage in the women's doubles event after losing 2-0 to third-seeded Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning from China.

It was a close match with 11 ties, but the Hong Kong duo were unable to close out both games despite starting strong after losing crucial points near the end.

Competing in the Olympics for the first time, Lianne Yeung said: "We did well because we didn't fear them for their ranking. Even when we were trailing by many points during the match, we absolutely didn't give up and we tried to fight point by point."

Their teammates Jordan Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet advanced to the quarterfinals in the mixed doubles despite losing to Japanese Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino.

They will face world No 3 pair Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yu Jung from South Korea tomorrow night.

In rowing, Hong Kong's Chiu Hin-chun finished last among six competitors in the quarterfinals.

Chiu ranked fifth in the first 500 meters of the 2,000m race, but was overtaken by Monaco rower Quentin Angognelli, finishing at 7:13.70 seconds. The 29-year-old will compete in the semifinal C/D for a higher rank at around 3.45pm today.