Latest news with #Izaac
AsiaOne
23-06-2025
- Sport
- AsiaOne
Izaac Quek becomes first local-born Singapore player to join China Table Tennis Super League, Singapore News
SINGAPORE — Featuring China's best current players, up-and-coming starlets and retired legends, the China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL) is widely regarded as the sport's most competitive league. And Izaac Quek is hoping his stint with Anhui Zhongcheng will help take his game to the next level after becoming the first local-born Singapore player to join the CTTSL. He will follow in the footsteps of China-born Singaporeans such as Feng Tianwei and current national men's team coach Gao Ning to play in the prestigious tournament, the standard of which is seen by some as comparable to the world championships. While his club comprise relatively unheralded players such as 34th-ranked Wen Ruibo, Ning Xiankun (133rd) and Niu Guankai (175th), Quek will get the chance to pit his skills against the world's top two players Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin, as well as Olympic champions such as Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin, who no longer compete on the World Table Tennis circuit. The 19-year-old, who has played in leagues in India, France and Spain, told The Straits Times: "This is the best league in the world and not everyone gets to play in it, so I want to make full use of this stint to learn as much as I can from the best players in the world. "Wen is 18 and I kept in touch with him after previous competitions, and I'm also looking forward to test myself against Fan, whom I have not played against. I've heard there will be two team matches in a day for four days in a row, so I have to get myself physically ready for this challenge." Quek missed the June 6-10 first stage of the competition in Hebei as he was helping Dabang Delhi to a top-four finish in India's Ultimate Table Tennis from May 29 to June 15. He will make his CTTSL debut in the July 25-28 second stage in Fujian before the Aug 29-Sept 1 third stage in Xinjiang. Anhui Zhongcheng are currently sixth out of nine teams, with the top four sides advancing to the championship play-offs. Eddy Tay, Singapore Table Tennis Association senior manager for high performance, shared that the opportunity arose from their relationship with Anhui Zhongcheng, who provided sparring partners for the STTA. He added: "While their club president was here with the players, we talked about whether it would be possible for them to recruit Izaac. They felt that at his age, Izaac has potential and room for growth, and hope that his youth and competitiveness will help them. "We have made a request for him to play as much as possible as we don't want to send him there just to sit on the bench. We hope he can gain as much experience as possible training with and playing against the Chinese." Singapore's first Under-15 boys world No. 1 in 2021, Quek had enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past few years, as he claimed notable scalps such as India's Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Kamal and Sweden's 2019 world championships silver medallist Mattias Falck en route to a career-high men's singles ranking of 55th in November 2023. He also teamed up with Koen Pang to achieve some outstanding results in the men's doubles, as they stunned China's then world No. 1 Yuan Licen and Xiang Peng to reach the last four at the WTT Finals in 2024, the year they also won silver at the Asian championships. In January, they rose to fifth in the world. However, Quek's ranking has slipped to 106th in the men's singles and 12th in the men's doubles as he started a business diploma course at Ngee Ann Polytechnic after the 2024 Olympics. But both the STTA and the player are not unduly worried. "There are mitigating factors for the dip as he is just making the transition to polytechnic and has not played in as many competitions as before," Tay said. "Despite recent losses, including narrow defeats at the world championships, we feel Izaac has generally done well and has improved in terms of his consistency and overall game play in both the singles and doubles." Tay said: "We will need to strategise in terms of his tournament plan. The players' world ranking is not of such a big concern now as it would be in 2027 before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. So we are devoting more time to training, and the overseas stints will have great value for his development." For his part, Quek has made adjustments to his game to take fewer risks and try to be stronger in rallies. He has also increased the duration of each of his endurance exercises from 10 to 15 minutes in his 12 training sessions across each week. He said: "I was on a honeymoon period in 2023 when many players didn't know much about me, and things were going well for me and I had some wins in big tournaments like the Singapore Smash. "This year, I still had some good wins against strong opponents, such as China's top-30 player Chen Yuanyu at the 2025 Asian Cup group stage, but they were not in such tournaments with a lot of ranking points. "I feel my game is stronger now and I'm more experienced, so I'm not focusing on the ranking now. I just need to focus on my game and naturally, the ranking will come." Before his CTTSL debut, Quek will spearhead a group of 10 Singaporeans competing at the June 26 -July 2 Asian Youth Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He said: "My focus will firstly be on motivating the younger ones to get some wins with me in the team event first, before my singles event later. "My game is good enough for this level and there's no player there that I think I have no chance to beat, and I think we have good players in our team too." [embed] [[nid:717602]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
The Hindu
05-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
UTT 2025: Izaac Quek aims to end Singapore's 16-year medal drought at LA 2028 Olympics
The Singaporean table tennis community has high hopes from Izaac Quek. Half of the country's six Olympic medals have come in ping pong but there has been no podium-finish since 2012. Also, all three medallists were born in China. But the 19-year-old Izaac is a Singaporean through and through. The talented youngster, who doesn't have a sports background, already made history last year in Paris as the youngest-local born player to qualify for the Olympics. 'I started playing table tennis in school at the age of 7. My family didn't play table tennis at all. I randomly chose the sport because one time, I played with my family and I really enjoyed it. To be able to come from there to qualify for the Olympics was a dream,' said Izaac, who is playing for Dabang Delhi in Season 6 of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) league in Ahmedabad. ALSO READ | Indian players keen to learn as Fan Siqi ends eight-year Chinese absence In his debut UTT season, Izaac - the youngest overseas player - has already impressed everyone with wins over Kanak Jha and Portuguese Tiago Apolonia. He had a nervous start against Jha but after conceding the opener to the American, he has clinched five straight games. Apolonia, who is double the age of Izaac, and the 24-year-old Jha found themselves wanting when it came to keeping up with the quick reflexes. The low center of gravity - Izaac is 172cm tall - and raw power help the Singaporean produce winning shots even from some very difficult positions. For Izaac, the current Olympic cycle is very important for him after which he will be forced to leave the paddle for a while. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/The Hindu 'There are not many tournaments where you can team up with foreigners, fight and try to win a competition. We always see each other internationally but we are always competing against each other. Trying to adapt and playing together is a good opportunity for me,' said Izaac, describing his experience in India so far. For Izaac, having played all the major tournaments already, the next goal is to better his results at those events. The current Olympic cycle is very important for him after which he will be forced to leave the paddle for a while. 'In Singapore, for boys, two years of military training is compulsory. There are no exemptions even if I win a gold at the Olympics. I can only defer the national service. Right now, I am still in school but I'll be going for military training after the LA Olympics. So, either in late 2028 or 2029,' revealed the teenager. ALSO READ | Dabang Delhi TTC, PBG Pune Jaguars remain unbeaten after winning respective matches World No. 98 Izaac came into the national limelight after his run to the round of 16, which included wins over veterans Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sweden's Mattias Falck, at the Singapore Smash 2023. However, it's his consistency in doubles which could be crucial to the country's hopes of clinching an Olympic medal after 16 years. Izaac and Koen Pang, another local-born Singaporean, are World No. 11 in the men's doubles ITTF Rankings. They also grabbed a silver medal at the Asian Championships 2024. 'We didn't imagine reaching such a high level. We are trying to use that confidence and bring it to singles because we have a lot of room for improvement. The men's doubles are a separate event at the LA Olympics. So, me and Pang will be focussing on the doubles while also improving our singles,' said a hopeful Izaac.
The Hindu
05-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
UTT 2025: Izaac Quek aims to end Singapore's 14-year medal drought at LA 2028 Olympics
The Singaporean table tennis community has high hopes from Izaac Quek. Half of the country's six Olympic medals have come in ping pong but there has been no podium-finish since 2012. Also, all three medallists were born in China. But the 19-year-old Izaac is a Singaporean through and through. The talented youngster, who doesn't have a sports background, already made history last year in Paris as the youngest-local born player to qualify for the Olympics. 'I started playing table tennis in school at the age of 7. My family didn't play table tennis at all. I randomly chose the sport because one time, I played with my family and I really enjoyed it. To be able to come from there to qualify for the Olympics was a dream,' said Izaac, who is playing for Dabang Delhi in Season 6 of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) league in Ahmedabad. ALSO READ | Indian players keen to learn as Fan Siqi ends eight-year Chinese absence In his debut UTT season, Izaac - the youngest overseas player - has already impressed everyone with wins over Kanak Jha and Portuguese Tiago Apolonia. He had a nervous start against Jha but after conceding the opener to the American, he has clinched five straight games. Apolonia, who is double the age of Izaac, and the 24-year-old Jha found themselves wanting when it came to keeping up with the quick reflexes. The low center of gravity - Izaac is 172cm tall - and raw power help the Singaporean produce winning shots even from some very difficult positions. For Izaac, the current Olympic cycle is very important for him after which he will be forced to leave the paddle for a while. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/The Hindu 'There are not many tournaments where you can team up with foreigners, fight and try to win a competition. We always see each other internationally but we are always competing against each other. Trying to adapt and playing together is a good opportunity for me,' said Izaac, describing his experience in India so far. For Izaac, having played all the major tournaments already, the next goal is to better his results at those events. The current Olympic cycle is very important for him after which he will be forced to leave the paddle for a while. 'In Singapore, for boys, two years of military training is compulsory. There are no exemptions even if I win a gold at the Olympics. I can only defer the national service. Right now, I am still in school but I'll be going for military training after the LA Olympics. So, either in late 2028 or 2029,' revealed the teenager. ALSO READ | Dabang Delhi TTC, PBG Pune Jaguars remain unbeaten after winning respective matches World No. 98 Izaac came into the national limelight after his run to the round of 16, which included wins over veterans Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sweden's Mattias Falck, at the Singapore Smash 2023. However, it's his consistency in doubles which could be crucial to the country's hopes of clinching an Olympic medal after 16 years. Izaac and Koen Pang, another local-born Singaporean, are World No. 11 in the men's doubles ITTF Rankings. They also grabbed a silver medal at the Asian Championships 2024. 'We didn't imagine reaching such a high level. We are trying to use that confidence and bring it to singles because we have a lot of room for improvement. The men's doubles are a separate event at the LA Olympics. So, me and Pang will be focussing on the doubles while also improving our singles,' said a hopeful Izaac.
The Hindu
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Izaac and Maria shine, Dabang exacts revenge against Challengers
Riding on a sterling show by Quek Izaac up front and Maria Xiao in the last rubber, Dabang Delhi TTC avenged last year's final loss against defending champion Goa Challengers in the sixth edition of Ultimate Table Tennis. The 9-6 victory at the EKA Arena on Wednesday not only brought a smile to captain G. Sathiyan's face — despite being beaten by arch rival Harmeet Desai in his singles affair — but also catapulted the Delhi outfit to the top of the standings. Izaac – the Singaporean teenager – set the tone for Dabang by overcoming veteran Tiago Apolonia, the five-time Olympian, in the first match. Despite being ranked much lower than the Portugal paddler, Izaac's raw power and quick reflexes helped him win all three games in the battle between the youngest and oldest overseas participants of the season. Zeng Jian – Izaac's fellow Singaporean – then brought parity to the scoreline by handing Dabang's Diya Chitale a lesson in consistently finishing off rallies. Sathiyan and Maria then teamed up to defeat Harmeet and Zeng before Harmeet levelled the scoreline at six games apiece after trailing 1-0. Harmeet upped the ante and increased his pace substantially to force Sathiyan into errors at key moments. But Maria, the Spaniard, cruised past UTT debutant Sayali Wani — who was preferred ahead of Krittwika Sinha Roy — in the deciding rubber to extend Dabang's points tally to 19. Later, Reeth Rishya's clean slate in the last women's singles helped PBG Pune Jaguars outplay Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5 in the night match and join Dabang Delhi as joint leaders in the points table. The results: Dabang Delhi TTC bt Dempo Goa Challengers 9-6 (Quek Izaac bt Tiago Apolonia 11-8, 11-9, 11-9; Diya Chitale lost to Zeng Jian 9-11, 5-11, 6-11; Maria Xiao & G. Sathiyan bt Zeng & Harmeet Desai 8-11, 11-5, 11-8; Sathiyan lost to Harmeet 11-8, 9-11, 9-11; Maria bt Sayali Wani 11-3, 11-7, 11-6). PBG Pune Jaguars bt Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5 (Alvaro Robles bt Quadri Aruna 10-11, 11-10, 11-10; Dina Meshref bt Adriana Diaz 11-8, 1-11, 11-10; Dina & Anirban Ghosh bt Diaz & Ankur Bhattacharjee 11-9, 11-9, 7-11; Anirban lost to Ankur 8-11, 7-11, 11-8; Reeth Rishya bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar 11-9, 11-8, 11-8). Thursday's fixtures: Jaipur Patriots vs U Mumba TT (5 p.m.); Stanley's Chennai Lions vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers (7.30 p.m.).
India Today
31-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Dabang Delhi crush Jaipur Patriots 11-4 to begin UTT 2025 campaign
Former champions Dabang Delhi TTC started their campaign on a positive note by outplaying Jaipur Patriots 11-4 in the opening match of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) here Izaac of Singapore came from a game down to beat American Kanak Jha 2-1 (5-11 11-5 11-9) in the first men's singles match to hand 2018 champions Dabang Delhi the international Sreeja Akula brought Jaipur Patriots back with a 2-1 (4-11 11-9 11-10) win over Maria Xiao of Spain in women's Olympian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran then joined forces with Xiao for Dabang Delhi and defeated the pair of Jha and Akula 3-0 (11-6 11-10 11-6) in the mixed doubles was on fire then, scoring an easy 3-0 (11-6 11-7 11-6) win over Jeet Chandra in the reverse men's Chitale took looked in good touch and was quick with both her forehand and backhand shots. She used top spin serves and powerful forehand smashed to prevail over Netherland's Britt Eerland to hand Dabang Delhi an easy win and confident the league stage of UTT league, a game is won when a player scores first 11 points, with a golden point used deciding games that are tied at 10-10.A team wins a tie by winning the most games. In the league stage, a team wins a tie by winning at least eight out of the 15 total games.
