Taiwan table tennis aces Cheng I-ching and Lin Yun-ju have qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo following victory in the mixed doubles quarterfinals of the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Grand Finals Dec. 12 in Zhengzhou, China.
Cheng and Lin took 19 minutes to brush aside their opponents from Hungary in three straight sets. They will go head to head Dec. 13 against rivals from China for a spot in the penultimate match.
Lin has a hectic tournament ahead in Zhengzhou. He will team up with Liao Cheng-ting in the men’s semifinals against Team Germany Dec. 13 before competing in the singles’ quarterfinals later in the day.
With a seventh- and eighth-place world ranking in the men’s and women’s singles respectively, Lin and Cheng have enjoyed a bumper year with wins at the ITTF Challenge Oman Open in March, China Open in June and Hong Kong Open the same month.
According to the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education, the duo is expected to do the country proud in the first-ever mixed doubles category at the Games.
A total of 22 Taiwan athletes have qualified for Tokyo in archery, cycling, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, table tennis. and track and field, the SA said. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw