SEA Games: New faces pass their final tests

At 31, he is the oldest of the seven SEA Games debutants in Singapore's 10-player, table-tennis squad in Naypyidaw.

But age has not entirely diminished the nerves that Zhan Jian felt as he led the title defence of the men's team over the past three days of competition.

"Sure, I felt nervous every time I put on national colours at these Games," he told The Straits Times.

"Singapore is well-established as the top table tennis country in the South-east Asia region.

"It has won so many SEA Games titles, so definitely I feel the pressure to win my matches and retain our titles."

But he steeled himself for the tasks ahead.

As both the first singles player and a doubles player, Zhan managed to keep a lid on any nerves to nab two of Singapore's points in their 3-0 men's team final victory over Thailand at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium on Thursday.

On an adjacent court, the women's team from the Republic also managed to retain their gold medal.

They beat Thailand 3-0, mere moments after the men's team had snared the gold medal.

Both teams dominated the competition, with the men's team coming out on top without losing a single tie.

The women's team lost just one tie.

That was when the doubles pair of Yu Mengyu and Zhou Yihan fell to Malaysia's Lee Wei Beh and Lee Rou You during their 3-1 group-stage win.

But Zhan, who arrived from China in 2010, was not entirely pleased with his first-singles performance in the final.

He had to dig deep to beat Nikom Wongsiri 11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4.

"I played badly,'' the Hubei native lamented. "I was too tight and could not relax and play at my usual level.

"Eventually, my coach calmed me down, encouraged me just enough to beat my Thai opponent."

The experience of being part of a squad tagged as favourites is certainly miles apart from his first major Games exposure at last year's London Olympics.

Then, he was part of a Singapore men's team who lost in the quarter-finals to eventual winners China.

He said of his Myanmar experience: "That's the pressure of being the favourite.

"I needed to raise my performance by several notches in every game because every first-singles player wants to beat me and get a psychological boost for his country."

He eventually steadied himself during the doubles tie, teaming up with fellow debutant Chen Feng to thrash Nikom and Chaisit Chaitat 11-4, 11-4, 11-1 to seal Singapore's gold.

Another debutant, Li Hu, won the second singles by beating Padasak Tanviriyavechakul 11-5, 11-8, 11-7.

Apart from Zhan, Chen (19 years old) and Li (25), the other Games debutants are Clarence Chew (17) for the men's team as well as Lin Ye (17), Zhou (29) and Yee Herng Hwee (16) for the women's squad.

Women's team coach Jing Junhong said that with the presence of so many new faces in the SEA Games squad, it was necessary for her to focus more on putting her players in the right frame of mind, rather than refining their techniques.

She added "We allowed them to make more mistakes during their matches and gave them time to figure out how to tackle each opponent.

"Basically, we tried to make them feel like it's not a major competition, and they could face their opponents without the crushing pressure of needing to retain our gold."

Lin said that having team-mates with Games experience - like Yu and Isabelle Li - helped her better manage her nerves.

"They often joked with me, gave me tips on how to win matches," she added. "I don't feel the burden as they probably do."

Like Zhan, Lin also featured in two matches in the final.

She won her singles tie against Tamolawan Khetkhuan 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6.

She also teamed up with Zhou to beat Tamolawan and Anisara Muangsuk 5-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.

Yu won the first singles tie against Nanthana Komwong 11-2, 11-6, 11-5.

hankeong@sph.com.sg

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