WTT Finals Hong Kong: Wong Chun-ting, Doo Hoi-kem go close against Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingsha
Final group match sees world No 5 city pair win two games off the world and Olympic champions for only the second time
Hong Kong’s mixed doubles pair Wong Chun-ting and Doo Hoi-kem flirted with the biggest win of their careers at the WTT Finals Hong Kong before narrowly losing 3-2 to world and Olympic champions Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha on Friday night.
Playing in front of an almost-packed Coliseum arena – though the majority appeared to be supporting the visiting Chinese stars – Doo said she was playing “as if my life was on the line”, while Wong said he enjoyed “playing toe-to-toe” against the formidable Chinese pair.
“This was the best match we played at the Coliseum [over three nights],” Doo said after their 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 1-11, 12-10 loss, which confirmed their elimination from the tournament. “It was better than I expected.
“There were a lot of extreme shots. I felt like I was playing with my life on the line, I had to dive on the ground to save many shots, and I think this experience will be something I can carry into every future game I play.”
Trailing 7-10 in the decider, the Hong Kong pair saved three match points to drag the game into deuce, and Wong recalled he was then thinking about how to score the next point.
“It was so close, but I do enjoy facing such formidable opponents,” he said. “We could manage [to win] two games again, and even forced them to deuce; I think it’s considered a breakthrough.