Incheon: Taiwan's Lin Yun-ju lost 2-4 Sunday to South Korea's Lee Sang-su in the men's singles semifinals match at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Incheon in South Korea.
According to Focus Taiwan, Lin, who is ranked 14th in the world, had earlier defeated Japan's Sora Matsushima 4-1 to secure his place in the semifinals. However, he faced unexpectedly strong competition from Lee, ranked 45th globally, especially with Lee playing in front of a supportive home crowd.
The match began evenly with a 4-4 score, and Lin managed to pull ahead to win the first game 11-5. The second game saw a reversal of fortunes as Lin lost by the same scoreline.
In a pivotal third game, Lin initially led 8-5, but Lee mounted a comeback, taking six of the next seven points to win 11-9. With momentum on his side, Lee dominated the fourth game, starting with a 4-0 lead and ultimately winning 11-2.
Lin attempted a comeback by edging out Lee 11-8 in the fifth game. However, in a tense sixth game, Lin narrowly lost 11-9, concluding the match in Lee's favor.
With this victory, Lee advances to face China's Xiang Peng in the tournament final on Sunday night.