Two Singaporean paddlers, Izaac Quek and Koen Pang, captured global attention for their outstanding sportsmanship during a recent World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash match at OCBC Arena, The Kallang.
The incident occurred on February 24 in a tense deciding set against Argentinian world No. 30 pair Horacio Cifuentes and Santiago Lorenzo. With the score tied 5-5, the Argentinians were issued a red card for taking too long to serve, awarding Quek and Pang the point. However, the Singaporeans believed the point had been unfairly given, as their opponents argued they were not yet ready.
Rather than capitalize on the advantage, Quek and Pang deliberately conceded the next point, restoring the score to 6-6. Their decision ultimately contributed to their 11-9 loss, but it earned widespread admiration from fans, fellow athletes, and Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who praised them for “losing the right way.”
Quek explained, “The red card was for time-wasting, but both of us were not ready, so technically, that’s not really time-wasting. I told the umpire it’s not fair, and she said it is her decision, so we continued the match… We returned the point, which is deserved.” Pang added that the umpire’s call was incorrect, but the match remained tightly contested.
Cifuentes and Lorenzo expressed gratitude to the Singapore pair, acknowledging that it was “not their obligation to give us this point” and expressing deep respect for their integrity.
The act of fair play sparked praise online, with one commenter remarking, “They lost the match but won our hearts.” President Tharman echoed the sentiment on Facebook, writing, “They chose sportsmanship over winning. It’s how life is best lived.”
The Singapore duo’s principled decision has since been celebrated as a shining example of integrity in competitive sports, demonstrating that fair play can triumph over the desire to win.
