Loy Ming Ying won her final women's singles group stage match at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on 2 Nov. Photo: Courtesy of Loy Ming Ying
Paddler Loy Ming Ying booked her spot in the Round of 16 at the Youth Olympic Games table tennis competition with a 3-1 (8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6) win in her final group stage match on 2 Nov. The 16-year-old defeated Ela Saidi of Tunisia at the Dakar Expo Center to rank second in her group behind South Korean Heo Yerim.
Loy had started her Dakar 2026 campaign on 1 Nov with victory over Australia’s Daisy Xie, before falling 3-2 to Heo in a tough battle on the same day.
On recovering from the loss, she said: “I just reflected on what happened and tried not to make the same mistakes, and tried not to be so nervous. It was a bit hard because this is a big competition … I just took deep breaths.”
Loy has two SEA Games medals from her debut in 2025 and was part of the women’s team who reached the Asian Games quarter-finals earlier this year. “(At those Games) I played with older players, so I felt less stressed,” she said. “This time, I’m playing against people around my age so I feel more nervous.”
Fellow Singapore flagbearer Zack Ng was also in action – he beat Fabricio Marx Rodriguez Tovar of Venezuela 2-0 (21-4, 21-2) in the men’s singles group stage of the badminton event. He will face Thailand’s Punnatat Prempunpong on 3 Nov for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 17-year-old revealed he usually relies on song lyrics and positive self-talk to stay focused throughout his games.
“I was thinking, just keep it in and try to do what I normally do, and remain consistent and maintain calmness,” said Ng, adding that his songs of choice during his opening match were ‘I Just Might’ by Bruno Mars and Daniel Caesar’s ‘Cool’.
“I’m feeling happy that I won my first match but there’s still tomorrow, and I hope I win tomorrow.”
In wushu, Ng Zhe Nin qualified for the women’s taijiquan combined final after scoring 9.353 in the taijiquan preliminary round. Taking into account her taijishan score from the previous day, she topped the preliminary round with her total score of 18.653.
“I think (my performance) was good, but it can be better,” said the 16-year-old.
“I feel relieved that the prelims are over. I’ll do my best tomorrow and see how it goes from there.”
She will compete in the final on 3 Nov, performing two routines – taijishan and taijiquan – at the Dakar Expo Center.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games takes place from 31 October to 13 November 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.