Karen-Ai Xin land historic table tennis title for Malaysia

A job well done: Karen Lyne (left) and Tee Ai Xin posing with their trophies after winning the women’s doubles title in Laos.

PETALING JAYA: Karen Lyne and Tee Ai Xin delivered a historic breakthrough for Malaysian table tennis – and an early Merdeka gift – by capturing the women’s doubles title at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Feeder Vientiane in Laos.

The Malaysian duo stunned Taiwan’s Wu Ying-shuan-Wu Jia-en 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-2 in the final to become the first Malaysian paddlers ever to win a World Tour tournament.

In April, Karen-Ai Xin reached their maiden World Tour final after defeating Germany’s Sophia Klee-Franziska Schreiner 13-11, 11-1, 11-8 in the Feeder Otocec 1 tournament in Slovenia before narrowly losing to Japan’s Hitomi Sato and Saki Shibata.

In Vientiane, Karen-Ai Xin began their campaign by beating home opponents Bounleut Keomany-Chanthida Nomichith 11-1, 11-1, 11-2 in the first round.

The Malaysian No. 1 pair overcame fellow teammates Ho Ying-Lim Jing Shuen 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 to advance to the semi-finals.

Karen-Ai Xin stormed into the final after a stylish 11-5, 11-2, 11-4 win over South Korean pair Lee Dae-un-Lee Seo-jin.

Karen-Ai Xin’s consistency has raised hopes ahead of the SEA Games in Thailand. The pair already made history last November by becoming the first Malaysians to win the women’s doubles title at the South-East Asian Championships in Bangkok. They beat Vietnam’s Tran Mai Ngoc-Nguyen Thi Nga 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 in the final.

Karen almost added a second title in Vientiane, but her mixed doubles run with Choong Javen ended in the final after falling 8-11, 10-12, 6-11 to Taiwan’s Hung Jing-kai-Wu Ying-shuan.

They had earlier beaten Taiwan’s Lin Yen-chun-Wu Jia-en 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4.

“History made for Team Malaysia,” said the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia in their Facebook posting.

“This historic achievement would not have been possible without the tireless dedication, guidance, and hard work of our coaches. Your commitment behind the scenes has been the backbone of this success!”

National head coach Beh Lee Wei said the results are a positive sign ahead of the SEA Games in December, where Malaysia hope to end a long wait for table tennis gold.

The last was in 1991 in Manila, when Phua Bee Sim-Chong Choi Ting won the women’s doubles.

“Our Malaysian players played without fear of losing. They can control their game flow well when they are more confident,” said the former national paddler.

In the men’s doubles, Teh Hong Yu-Danny Ng manage to reach the last eight before going down 10-12, 14-12, 10-12, 3-11 to Hong Kong’s Yiu Kwan To-Ho Kwan Kit.