Singapore's women's doubles pair of Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu lost to China's Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling 4-1 (6-11, 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11) in the semi-finals of the World Table Tennis Championships in Duesseldorf, Germany, yesterday.
The world No. 14 duo will return home with the bronze medal as losing semi-finalists.
This is their third consecutive doubles bronze medal in this competition, which alternates between individual and team events every year.
They also claimed bronzes during the 2013 and 2015 editions.
Yu, 27, said in a phone interview: "What was good was that we didn't give up.
"Though we were lacking in the forehand area (as compared to Chen and Zhu), I think Tianwei and I played relatively well."
After dropping the first two sets, the Singaporean pair found their momentum.
Showing plenty of fighting spirit against the 10th-ranked Chinese pair, they took the third set to get back into the game.
LUCK
They had luck on their side, too, as they won three points from shots that caught the edge of the table, en route to winning 11-6.
Though we were lacking in the forehand area (as compared to Chen and Zhu), I think Tianwei and I played relatively well.Yu Mengyu on her partnership with Feng Tianwei
The Chinese, however, began to assert themselves in the next set, starting strongly to open up a 4-1 lead.
Feng and Yu reduced the gap to 9-8, raising hopes of a comeback.
But, to upset their momentum, China called for a time-out, which turned out to be a shrewd move, as Chen and Zhu sealed the next two points to clinch the set.
The difference in class told in the end, as the Singapore duo lost the fifth set to hand the match to the Chinese.
Yu admitted that the better team won.
She said: "Every point counted, and we really fought hard, even if we weren't technical enough to beat them."
In last night's final, Chen and Zhu met compatriots Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen.
