SINGAPORE – Table tennis player Loy Ming Ying is guaranteed a medal at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games after booking her spot in the women’s singles final with a 4-2 (5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9) victory over Hong Kong’s second seed Su Tsz Tung in the semi-finals on Nov 5.

Tsz Tung, who had bagged the mixed doubles silver with compatriot Li Ki Ho two days ago, was the latest player to be stunned by the Singaporean 10th seed at the Dakar Expo Center in Senegal.

En route to the semi-finals, Ming Ying had beaten India’s eighth seed and Asian youth medallist Syndrela Das 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6) in the last 16, before overcoming French fourth seed and European youth champion Nina Guo 4-1 (13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 13-11) in the quarter-finals.

Before that, the 16-year-old had qualified for the knockout stages after finishing second in Group 7 with five points following two wins and a loss from three matches. South Korea’s Heo Ye-rim topped the group undefeated.

Ming Ying will face top seed Miku Matsushima of Japan or Taiwanese fifth seed Chen Min-hsin in the final later on Nov 5, as she aims to win Singapore’s first table tennis gold medal at the YOG.

The Republic’s best performance in table tennis at the quadrennial event came at the 2010 edition in Singapore, where Isabelle Li claimed the women’s singles silver.

Ming Ying’s win over the left-handed Tsz Tung, 17, was her first over the Hong Kong player, whom she had lost to in their previous three encounters.

They met most recently at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September, when Singapore registered a 3-2 comeback victory over Hong Kong to book their spot in the women’s team quarter-finals.

Back then, the clash of the teens ended in Tsz Tung’s favour as she came from behind to beat Ming Ying 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6).

Ming Ying, who picked up the sport when she was five, has risen steadily through the ranks after producing creditable showings on the international stage that have belied her youth.

She was 13 when she became the youngest player to win a Singapore Smash singles match, by beating France’s Audrey Zarif 3-1 in the first round of qualifying at the 2024 tournament.

The following year, the Singapore Sports School student enjoyed more success on the senior level as she became the youngest player of the women’s national team at age 14.

In 2025, she was part of the side that won the Asian Team Championships women’s team bronze, besides clinching a SEA Games women’s team silver and women’s doubles bronze with Ser Lin Qian.

For her feats, she was named the Singapore Table Tennis Association’s Youth Player of the Year at its annual awards night in May.

Ming Ying, who was supposed to take the O levels in 2026, took a leave of absence from school to prepare for the YOG.

She has had a memorable year so far, winning the SEA Youth Championships Under-15 girls’ singles title in April, before making her Asiad debut in September.

With Ming Ying securing a podium spot at the YOG, Singapore will have at least two medals at the ongoing Games after wushu exponent Ng Zhe Nin struck gold in the women’s taijiquan combined event on Nov 3.

Singapore are represented by 14 athletes competing in archery, athletics, badminton, 3x3 basketball, fencing, artistic gymnastics, sailing, table tennis and wushu at the Dakar Games.