Asian Games 2026: Quek, Pang Miss Out on Doubles Medal After Quarter-final Defeat

Quek and Pang pushed home favourites Harimoto and Shinozuka in all three games but slipped to defeat. Photo: SNOC/ Terence Tan

Up against home favourite and world No. 3 Sora Matsushima in the men’s singles on Saturday (Sep 26) morning, world No. 22 national paddler Izaac Quek embraced the underdog title, pushing his opponent close by taking two sets off him before eventually losing 4-2 in the men’s singles round of 16.

“Going into the game, I knew I was the clear underdog, but looking at the past times we’ve played, I knew I had what it takes to push him close so I didn’t have any pressure and told myself to just play my best and keep the scores close, which I did today,” Quek said, having combined with compatriot Koen Pang to beat Sora and Tomokazu Harimoto at the quarters of the 2024 Asian Table Tennis Championships en route to a historic silver.

“I am quite happy with my individual results. I played a good match against Sora, and I tried my best.”

The Singaporean pair raced to a 9-3 lead in the first game. Photo: SNOC/ Terence Tan

Quek later teamed up with Pang in their men’s quarter-final match against Japanese pair Harimoto and Hiroto Shinozuka, who were coming off the back of an impressive gold in the men’s team event.

The Singaporean pair raced to a 9-3 start, stunning their opponents who initially struggled to find any sort of rhythm.

Crediting their chemistry built over a four-year partnership that has spanned five major Games, Pang said: “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Pairing with him for four years is definitely an advantage for us. Izaac gives the ball where I want it, and I know where he wants it. It’s like muscle memory.”

“We’ve beaten (Sora and Tomokazu) before, so beating another pair wasn’t impossible, but it would definitely be hard.”

Quek added: “We played really well (in the first set), and I think they were quite shocked… we should have just closed it out, and the match would have been much different.”

Unfortunately, the world No. 11 pair saw their lead slowly slip away as the Japanese scored eight consecutive points to take the first game.

“In terms of skill level we are fifty-fifty, but they were much stronger mentally after that first set,” Quek said.

“There were some mistakes that I made where I should have got the ball on the table. At 9-8, we should have called a timeout… Looking at the game, we were okay and didn't have any problems tactically… Looking at how they were mentally, we should have definitely taken that timeout.

The pair eventually played out a battling 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-9) loss.

Of the tight scoreline, Pang said: “Even when we were 2-0 down, I feel we were more aggressive than them, and we took a lot of initiative… It’s not that we were playing badly, it’s just that we couldn't take our chances well.”

But it was not all doom and gloom for Quek, who had achieved his goal of improving his Hangzhou showing, where he exited in the round of 32 in the men’s singles and round of 16 in the men’s doubles with Pang.

At the Sky Hall Toyota, Quek went one stage further in both events.

Quek took two games off Matsushima in the men's singles round of 16. Photo: SNOC/ Terence Tan

“I’ve definitely improved in my game. The more you play in the circuit, the harder it gets because everybody knows you… At this level, everyone’s ability is around the same. It’s about who is stronger mentally and executes the match well.”

For Pang, the biggest takeaway was knowing that every difficult situation has a solution.

“I just have to try to find (the solution) slowly, even if it puts me out of my comfort zone. I have to take it slow and try to play so that the other players are uncomfortable.”

With the Oct 1-11 China Smash in Beijing looming, there will be little time for the pair to dwell on their near-miss in Nagoya, having come one victory away from a guaranteed medal.

In the women’s singles event, Ser Lin Qian and Zeng Jian both fell at the round of 16, with Ser losing 4-0 to Kim Kum Yong of North Korea while Zeng was beaten by South Korea’s Joo Cheonhui 4-2.

(From left to right) Ser, Lai, Loy, Tan and Ellsworth Le cheering on the team from the stands. Photo: SNOC/ Terence Tan

Debutante Loy Ming Ying later paired up with Ser in the women’s doubles quarter-finals, where they lost 3-0 (11-4, 11-2, 11-7) to Hong Kong’s Ng Wing Lam and Doo Hoi Kem, whom Loy had beaten earlier in the team event.

Earlier on Tuesday (Sep 22), the women’s team of Loy, Ser, Zeng, Chloe Lai and Tan Zhao Yun also did well to make the quarter-finals but eventually fell 3-0 to South Korea.

The 20th Asian Games are held in Japan from 19 September to 4 October 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.