Yu Mengyu (; born 18 August 1989) is a retired Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player. Born in Liaoning, China, Yu left China in 2006 at the age of 17 to join the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA). She was part of the team that won the 2010 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Moscow, Russia. She represented Singapore in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics (Team & Singles). Yu retired from the national team on 22 March 2022. The Tokyo Olympics was her final international tournament.

Early life

Yu was born and raised in Liaoning. She started practising table tennis from the age of five and eventually become a provincial player. During an event in Beijing when she was 16, Yu was spotted by STTA coach Chen Yong. Chen invited her to go to Singapore for further training. With the opportunity to compete in international competitions, Yu took the offer and joined the STTA.

Career

2016 Summer Olympics

Yu participated in ITTF Asian-Olympics Qualifier (South-East Asian region) at Hong Kong from 13 to 17 April 2016. She was the runner-up in SEA group, losing to her team-mate,

Feng Tianwei Feng Tianwei (, ) is a Singaporean table tennis player. Born in Harbin, China, she permanently moved to Singapore at the age of 20 under the former Foreign Sports Talent Scheme in March 2007 and commenced her international career in competit ...

. According to May 2016 ranking published by International Table Tennis Federation, she qualified for the singles event at Rio de Janeiro Olympics. This was her Olympics debut. She was seeded ninth in singles event and fourth in women's team event. She reached the singles Quarter-Final but lost 2–4 to

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of North Korea. The Singapore women's team, comprising Yu, Feng and

Zhou Yihan Zhou Yihan (; born 30 January 1994) is a Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player. Born in China, she moved to Singapore in 2009 via the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. She was eligible to play in 2011. Zhou won a team gold at the 2014 Comm ...

, reached the semi-final of the team event but lost to China 0–3. In the bronze medal match, the trio was defeated by Japan 1–3. ;Singles Event ;Team Event

2018 Asian Games

Yu entered the Asian Games as the 14th seed in the singles event. In the Round of 32, she defeated Alice Chang of Malaysia 4-1 (11-4, 11–2, 11–4, 7–11, 11–2) to set up a Round of 16 encounter with 6th seeded Doo Hoi Kem. Yu defeated Doo in a nail-biting contest that was stretched to the maximum seven games, winning 4-3 (5-11, 13–11, 11–8, 7–11, 12–10, 9–11, 11–6). In the quarterfinals, Yu pulled off a shock win against 3rd seed Cheng I-ching, winning 4-1 (11-7, 11–6, 9–11, 11–4, 11–3). In the semifinals, Yu played against 2nd seeded Wang Manyu of China, losing 1-4 (7-11, 6–11, 5–11, 11–9, 7–11).http://www.ocagames.com/orb/files/4/106/AG2018_OfficialResultBook_Table%20Tennis_v1.0.pdf As a result of reaching the semifinals, Yu clinched the bronze medal in the singles event. Yu also participated in the team event together with

, Lin Ye, Zhang Wanling and Pearlyn Koh. The team progressed to the knockout stage after finishing 2nd out of 5 teams in the group stage. In the quarterfinals of the knockout stage, Singapore was drawn to face South Korea. In the first match, Feng put Singapore 1-0 up after defeating defensive chopper

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3-1 (9-11, 11–6, 11–9, 11–7). However, Yu lost the second match to Jeon Ji-hee 1-3 (11-9, 10–12, 9–11, 11–13). Lin then lost out to Yang Ha-eun in straight games (6-11, 11–13, 3–11) and Feng was defeated by Jeon (8-11, 8–11, 8–11) in the fourth match, leading to an overall 1–3 loss against South Korea.

2020 Summer Olympics

Yu defeated fourth seed Cheng I-ching of Chinese Taipei in the round of 32 and fifth seed Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan in the quarter-finals. Yu faced Chen Meng of China in the semi-final match. During the 4th set against Chen, she suffered an injury to her left thigh. Yu eventually lost the match 4–0. Yu later faced

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in the Bronze Medal match on the same day, initially winning the 1st set but eventually lost the match 4–1. Overall, she placed 4th in the Women's singles category. Yu also participated in the Women's Team event with

and Lin Ye. In the Round of 16, Singapore defeated France 3–0. In the first match (doubles), Yu paired up with Lin to win 3-0 (11-6, 11–5, 13–11) against the French pair of Loeuillette Stephanie and

Jia Nan Yuan Jia Nan Yuan (or Yuan Jianan, born 11 July 1985) is a Chinese-born table tennis player representing France. Born in China, she moved to France at the age of 18, in 2003. In 2011, she acquired French citizenship. Since 2018, she represents Franc ...

. Feng won the second match with a 3–2 victory over

Prithika Pavade Prithika Pavade (born 2 August 2004) is a French table tennis player of Indian descent. She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8&nbs ...

. In the third match, Yu defeated Yuan 3-1 (11-8, 7–11, 11–5, 11–8), wrapping up an overall 3–0 victory for Singapore. In the quarterfinals, Singapore faced China, the top seed and eventual gold medallists in the Team event. In the first match, Yu and Lin lost out in straight games (5-11, 7–11, 5–11) to China's Chen Meng and Wang Manyu. Feng then lost the second match to singles silver medallist

Sun Yingsha Sun Yingsha (simplified Chinese: 孙颖莎; born 4 November 2000) is a Chinese table tennis player. She is the current world No. 1 in women's singles. Career 2019 In the 2019 World Team Cup, Sun came back from down 10–7 in the deciding fifth ...

, and Wang wrapped up the victory for China following a 3–1 win over Olympics debutant Lin in the third match. Yu announced it will be her last participation at the Olympics. ;Singles Event ;Team Event

Retirement and assistant coach appointment

Yu announced her retirement from the national team on 22 March 2022 at the Singapore Table Tennis Association's Annual Awards Night. After her retirement, she was appointed as an assistant coach for the Singapore Table Tennis Association's junior development squad for high-profile players aged 9 to 12.

Career records

;Singles *Olympics: QF (2016); 4th (2020). *

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

: round of 64 (2013, 2017) ; round of 32 (2011); round of 16 (2009, 2015). *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

: QF (2012). * World Tour Grand Finals: QF (2009); SF (2014). * Asian Championships: round of 16 (2007, 2009); QF (2013). *

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

: 3rd (2014), QF (2016). *Asian Games: 3rd (2018). *Commonwealth Games: 2nd (2010, 2014, 2018). *Southeast Asian Games: 1st (2013). ;Women's doubles *

: round of 16 (2009); 3rd (2013, 2015, 2017). * World Tour Grand Finals: SF (2009); 1st (2012). * Asian Championships: 3rd (2007, 2009). *Commonwealth Games: 1st (2014, 2018). *Southeast Asian Games: 1st (2009, 2017); 2nd (2015). ;Mixed doubles *

: round of 64 (2009); round of 32 (2015); round of 16 (2011, 2013). * Southeast Asian Games: 1st (2015), 2nd (2017). * Asian Championships: 2nd (2015). *Commonwealth Games: 1st (2018). ;Team *Olympics: 4th (2016). *

: 1st (2010); 2nd (2008, 2012); 3rd (2014); QF (2016). *

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tournamen ...

: 2nd (2009, 2010); 3rd (2011, 2013, 2015). * Asian Championships: 2nd (2007, 2009, 2012), 3rd (2013). *Asian Games: 2nd (2010); 3rd (2014); QF (2018). *Commonwealth Games: 1st (2010, 2014); 2nd (2018). *Southeast Asian Games: 1st (2009, 2013, 2015, 2017).

References

External links