The first champions of the South East Asian (SEA) Youth Table Tennis Championships 2026 individual events were crowned on Saturday at the ActiveSG Pasir Ris Sports Hall, with Malaysia’s Lee Hong An and Mohd Dania edging Singapore’s Loy Xing Yao and Loy Ming Ying in a gripping Mixed Doubles final.
Backed by a passionate home crowd, 2024 champions Loy Xing Yao and Loy Ming Ying delivered a spirited and determined performance, pushing the match to the distance. However, they were ultimately denied a fairytale finish, falling 2–3 (11–7, 9–11, 11–9, 11–13, 7–11) to their Causeway rivals.
The Malaysian duo’s triumph was all the more impressive given their path to the title — having earlier dispatched defending champions Ellsworth Le and Chloe Lai of Singapore in straight sets (11–4, 11–8, 11–3) in the semifinals. In doing so, they defeated two former champion pairs en route to clinching the crown.
“Today’s mixed doubles match was decided by the finest of margins, with key points and small details making the difference. We had opportunities in both the second and fourth games, but were unable to capitalise”, said Hao Anlin, Singapore National Team Coach.
He added, “There is some disappointment, but it also brings clarity on what we need to improve moving forward. In particular, there were fluctuations in focus and mental resilience, and our tactical execution at crucial moments lacked decisiveness. This defeat is not without value — having identified these gaps, we now have a clearer direction on how to train and compete better in the matches ahead”
It was a tough end for the Loy siblings, who had been hoping to carry the momentum from their amazing semifinal comeback.
Facing Indonesia’s Muhammad Junindra and Ni Maharani, they showed immense resilience to overturn a 0–2 deficit and snatch a dramatic 3–2 victory (8–11, 10–12, 11–7, 11–6, 12–10).
“It is a pity that we could not capitalise at home, and it is a lesson to remember and to look back and see how we can improve from here”, said Xing Yao.
Ellsworth Le and Chloe Lai, along with Junindra and Maharani, settled for joint-bronze honours.
In other events, the duo of Jayden Tan and Aron Ng booked their place in the U19 Boys’ Doubles semifinals, emerging as the only Singapore pair to do so and guaranteeing the hosts at least a podium finish.
Singapore’s medal haul was further assured across multiple events. Rising stars Isaiah Loh advanced in the U15 Boys’ Singles, while Chevelle See and Ng Jing Xuan progressed in the U15 Girls’ Singles. In the U19 Girls’ Singles, Ming Ying and Lai also secured semifinal spots, alongside Ng Jing Xuan’s partnership with Sonia Zainudeen in the U15 Girls’ Doubles.
In the U19 Boys’ Singles, Singapore is guaranteed two medals, with Ellsworth Le set to face Yang Ze Yi in an all-Singapore semifinal — ensuring one of them will contest for the gold medal.
The competition concludes tomorrow, Sunday 19 April, with the semifinals and finals of the U15 and U19 Singles and Doubles events.
