TeamSG's Izaac Quek Scores Biggest Career Win to Reach 3rd Round of Singapore Smash 2023!
TeamSG's Izaac Quek vs Sweden's Mattias Falck at Singapore Smash 2023. Photo Credit : Team Nila Content Producer, Ken Chia
By Pearlyn Koh
Local table tennis fans were filled with immense pride at the OCBC Arena on Monday evening (13 March), as they witnessed Team Singapore's Izaac Quek (world number 242) score his biggest-ever career win, against Sweden’s Mattias Falck (world number 36)! This win at Singapore Smash 2023 was an even sweeter one, given that Izaac had to come back from 2 games down to claim this impressive win 3-2 (6-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10).
16 year old Izaac set up the meeting with the 2021 World Championship Doubles gold medallist, following his upset against the reigning Commonwealth Games Gold medalist and world number 56, Sharath Kamal Achanta, on Saturday (11 March).
TeamSG's Izaac Quek vs Sweden's Mattias Falck at Singapore Smash 2023. Photo Credit : Team Nila Content Producer, Ken Chia
31 year old Mattias is one of the few forehand short-pimpled players in the current professional men’s table tennis scene. And he became a household name after winning Silver at the ITTF World Championships 2019 - the first Swedish player to reach the Men’s Singles Finals since 1997!
With Mattias’ unique playing style, Izaac was prepared for a challenging battle as he began his quest in the Round of 32 match. In the first two games, the teenage paddler attempted to play aggressively. But his Swedish opponent’s quick and sudden forehand attacks caught the TeamSG athlete off-guard on several occasions. The 16 year old struggled to cope with the pace of the world number 36’s shots, which allowed the Swede to clinch the first 2 games in a convincing manner, 11-6 and 11-3.
TeamSG's Izaac Quek in round of 32 at Singapore Smash 2023. Photo Credit : Team Nila Content Producer, Ken Chia
Undaunted, the young and fearless Izaac displayed wonderful fighting spirit and determination, as he refused to give up even when he was down by two games. His never-say-die spirit paid off, as things took a turn in the third game, with the world number 242 seeming to have found his winning strategy. The teenager focused on adding more quality to his forehand attacks, which caused some problems for his older opponent. Coupled with variations in his locations of serves and strong backhand receives, Mattias began making more unforced errors while Izaac appeared more confident and relaxed as he went on to win the next 2 games and forced the decider. And the crowd went wild at the Infinity Arena, as Izaac eventually came back from 10-8 down in the final game, to win 12-10 and take the overall victory 3-2!
"Words can’t describe how I’m feeling right now. But all I can say is, I'm very happy. The experience out there with such a big crowd and everybody supporting me – I'd like to thank everyone. I definitely heard them during the match and that's what brought me the win today. When I was 2-0 down, all I was telling myself was to think about the skills — not about winning or losing and just give it my all. I had nothing to lose even when I was 2-0 down and even when things were not going my way, I didn't give up and I tried to think of more strategies to win," said Isaac in his post-match interview.
TeamSG's Izaac Quek in round of 32 at Singapore Smash 2023. Photo Credit : Team Nila Content Producer, Ken Chia
Over in the Mixed Doubles event, the Republic's Clarence Chew & Zeng Jian fell to India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran & Manika Batra 3-1 (11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3) in the Round of 16, after a tight battle.
The TeamSG athletes defeated Australia’s Nicholas Lum/Jee Minhyung in the opening round of the Mixed Doubles event on Saturday (11 March) to set up a meeting with their Indian opponents, who received a bye in the first round. Clarence and Zeng Jian are presently ranked 94th in the world, and are the reigning Silver and Bronze medalists at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and Commonwealth Games respectively.
TeamSG's Clarence Chew and Zeng Jian at Singapore Smash 2023. Photo Credit : WTT
This is the second time the Singaporean pair were playing against their Indian opponents, with the first being at the WTT Contender Doha 2022. There, it was Sathiyan and Manika who took the victory 3-2. Meanwhile at the OCBC Arena, the rhythm of the world number 9th ranked duo caused the local paddlers some trouble in the first 2 games. Manika aimed to slow down the game using her long-pimples rubber on the backhand, while Sathiyan focused on quickening the pace of the game with his fast returns. With the Singaporeans unable to find any solutions, the Indians won the first 2 games with a score margin of 11-7 and 12-10 respectively. Down 2-0, Clarence and Zeng Jian continued to fight as the local crowd cheered them on. The TeamSG athletes focused on higher-quality returns and the angle of their placements. This led to a series of errors on their opponent’s end, allowing the Singaporean pair to lead 7-4, before claiming the third game, 11-9!
The local duo would have hoped to continue their good form in the 4th game, but their higher-ranked opponents were simply too well-prepared. Scores were tied at 2 apiece, but mistakes on the Singaporeans’ end quickly allowed Sathiyan and Manika to claim 6 consecutive points, before dominating the fourth game 11-3 and taking the overall win.
India's Sathiyan Gnanasekaran & Manika Batra at Singapore Smash 2023. Photo Credit : WTT
After 3 days of competition in the main draw, TeamSG's hopes in the US$2 million event now rest upon the shoulders of Koen Pang and Izaac. 2019 SEA Games gold medallist Koen will take on Germany’s Qiu Dang at 7pm on 14 March in the Round of 32 of the Men’s Singles event! And 16 year old Izaac will next meet world number 3 Wang Chuqin for a place in the quarter-finals. On the Men’s doubles end, Koen and Izaac will team up to face Chinese superstars Fan Zhendong and Chuqin in the Round of 16.
Results summary of TeamSG players on 13 March:
Men’s Singles:
Izaac Quek (SGP) vs Mattias Falck (SWE) - 3:2 (6-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10)
Men’s Doubles:
Koen Pang/Izaac Quek (SGP) vs Clarence Chew/Ethan Poh (SGP) - 3:1 (11-7, 10-12, 11-3, 11-5)
Mixed Doubles:
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Manika Batra (IND) vs Clarence Chew/Zeng Jian (SGP) - 3:1 (11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3)
Women’s Doubles:
Lily Zhang/Amy Wang (USA) vs Ser Lin Qian/Zhou Jingyi (SGP) - 3:1 (12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5)
Lee Ho Ching/Chen Szu-Yu (HKG/TPE) vs Goi Rui Xuan/Wong Xin Ru (SGP) - 3:1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7)
Shan Xiaona/Nagasaki Miyu (GER/JPN) vs Loy Ming Ying/Chloe Lai (SGP) - 3:0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-6)
Catch Koen Pang as he takes on Germany’s Qiu Dang at 7pm on 14 March, in the Round of 32 of the Men’s Singles event!
Event details
Singapore Smash 2023 at the OCBC Arena, features 64 player men’s and women’s singles and 24-pair doubles and mixed competitions. A singles qualifying competition featuring a further 64 men and 64 women was held from 7-9 March. And the overall player line-up for the 7-19 March extravaganza is listed here.
Tickets for the the Main draw are available here.
Pearlyn Koh played Table Tennis competitively for 9 years. She represented Team Singapore at several major tournaments, including the 2018 Asian Games and World Table Tennis Championships. In 2019, Pearlyn was also the sole Southeast Asian player to enter the Top 16 at the Asian Junior & Cadet Table Tennis Championships. During her free time, Pearlyn enjoys reading and catching up with her friends. Having retired from the national team in Feb 2023, she's now a Business Ad undergrad at NUS.
Related Articles
Related Topics
Recent Events & Programmes
Related Articles
Related Topics
Related Topics
[BlogPost 164438712123 NSG 2024 Badminton: Senior Div Girls Quarter-Finals, BlogPost 164238055490 Evergreen Aleksandar Duric Still Making Headlines at 53, BlogPost 164170080646 NSG 2024 Rope Skipping: Junior Div Girls Freestyle Team Finals, BlogPost 162884973666 Move and Rest Better With Data From Your Own Body, BlogPost 163393049482 Life Comes Full Circle For Serangoon Garden Secondary School's Fahrish Khan, BlogPost 163258797651 Making Golf a Sport for All, BlogPost 162512222328 NSG 2024 Sepaktakraw: Senior Div Yuhua Primary School vs Qihua Primary School, BlogPost 162233592997 Gritty Lions Suffer Loss to China, BlogPost 162089384371 On Your Mark, Get Ready, Go Running, BlogPost 161670652697 Lions' Excellent Showing Against China, BlogPost 161435270031 Ogura Optimistic for Exciting Clash against China, BlogPost 161127614758 The Future of Basketball in Singapore: Why 3x3 is Here to Stay, BlogPost 161033673012 The Active Lifestyler's Guide to the New ActiveSG Delta Sport Centre, BlogPost 161128356680 Grand New Champions Crowned at WTT Singapore Smash 2024, BlogPost 160844835218 NSG 2024 Table Tennis: C Div Boys Pool Round, BlogPost 160210745115 NSG 2024 Basketball: Senior Div Girls Tampines Primary School vs Frontier Primary School, BlogPost 159881180544 Whirlwind Return to Women's Football, BlogPost 159633541417 Singapore Smash to Elevate a New Legacy, BlogPost 158983580420 NSG 2024 Rugby: B Div Damai Secondary School vs Peirce Secondary School, BlogPost 159003960202 SFA Fiesta: Kicking off 2024 to a Roaring Start, BlogPost 158830735126 NSG 2024 Football: B Div Girls Preliminary Round Meridian Secondary School VS Bowen Secondary School, BlogPost 158536989718 Team Nila Volunteers Recognized At Awards Ceremony, BlogPost 158270107806 NSG 2024 Hockey: B Div Boys Preliminary Round Raffles Institution VS St. Hilda Secondary School, BlogPost 157966862615 NSG 2024 Floorball: B Division Preliminary Rounds Kick Off!, BlogPost 157562433712 What Is Safe Sport?, BlogPost 157559446197 Sengkang Secondary: Cultivating Well-Rounded Footballers, BlogPost 157368261167 New National Training Centre for Cricket at West Coast Ground, BlogPost 155340164987 Active Ageing with Joey Bonifacio, BlogPost 155930815517 Inaugural Singapore Youth League kicks off from 24th February 2024, BlogPost 155340164727 Bukit Canberra : the Coolest Spot in the North, BlogPost 155368905255 How Padang Fandi Inspired Ayden to Chase his Dream, BlogPost 154755572826 Ageing Backwards with Elizabeth Cheang, BlogPost 154094657315 Running For Fitness, BlogPost 153318636178 Excitement Builds for FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2024, BlogPost 153198644247 World's Top Four Confirmed for 2024 HSBC Women's World Championship, BlogPost 149413941770 Cultivating Your Kids’ Interest in the Outdoors, BlogPost 149413941163 Making Sport More Appealing for Our Kids, BlogPost 149412549409 Solo Or Team Sport – Choosing the Best for Your Child, BlogPost 151197478798 Former Lions Stalwart Baihakki Khaizan Sheds Light on New Accreditation to Elevate Grassroots Football and Youth Development, BlogPost 80703591291 New Year, Fitter You! Here are the top 3 workouts for the New Year, BlogPost 81171151456 7 Reasons Why Sports are Great for Children’s Mental Health, BlogPost 80542065330 17 Best Yoga Classes & Studios in Singapore [+ Rating & Prices], BlogPost 149404351798 From Brush to Lens: A Student's Journey in the World of Art and Sports Photography, BlogPost 149402825063 The Benefits of Active Parenting, BlogPost 149397832009 Sweden Claim 9th Straight Gold at the Women's World Floorball Championship, BlogPost 149397831449 Lion City Sailors Win 2023 Singapore Cup, BlogPost 148511324266 Pitch Perfect with Jonathan Teo, BlogPost 148511724402 Seniors: Increase your flexibility bit by bit with these stretches, BlogPost 147866574167 A Valuable Experience In Spain for Singapore's National Development Centre U-14 Boys, BlogPost 146915317264 How one magical Kallang night changed the lives of Abirami and Daania forever]