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 competi ...

. 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 Kim Song-i 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 Doo Hoi Kem (; born 27 November 1996) is a Hong Kong table tennis player. She won two medals at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and she was a member of Hong Kong women's team at the 2014 World Team Championships. In 2015, she won a bronze medal ...

. 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 Cheng I-ching (; born 15 February 1992) is a Taiwanese table tennis player. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's singles event, in which she was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Li Xiaoxia, and as part of the Chinese Taipei ...

, winning 4-1 (11-7, 11–6, 9–11, 11–4, 11–3). In the semifinals, Yu played against 2nd seeded

Wang Manyu Wang Manyu (, born 9 February 1999) is a Chinese table tennis player. She is the current world champion in women's singles and doubles. In the 2017 T2 Asia Pacific League, she replaced Ding Ning in round 2 for team Persson. 2018 began with Wang ...

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

Suh Hyo-won Suh Hyo-won or Seo Hyo-won (born May 10, 1987) is a South Korean table tennis player. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's singles event, in which she was eliminated in the fourth round by Cheng I-ching Cheng I-ching (; born ...

3-1 (9-11, 11–6, 11–9, 11–7). However, Yu lost the second match to

Jeon Ji-hee Jeon Ji-hee (, born 28 October 1992), born Tian Minwei (), is a Chinese-born South Korean table tennis player. Career She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's singles event, in which she was eliminated in the fourth round by Yu ...

1-3 (11-9, 10–12, 9–11, 11–13). Lin then lost out to

Yang Ha-eun Yang Ha-eun (born 25 February 1994) is a South Korean female table tennis player. She won two medals at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம� ...

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

of Chinese Taipei in the round of 32 and fifth seed

Kasumi Ishikawa (born 23 February 1993) is a Japanese table tennis player. A regular member of the Japanese national team, she won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, a bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics ...

of Japan in the quarter-finals. Yu faced

Chen Meng Chen Meng (; born 15 January 1994) is a Chinese table tennis player and the current World No. 2 in Women's Singles. She joined the provincial team when she was 9 and joined the national team when she was only 13 in 2007. She is the women's singl ...

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

Mima Ito is a Japanese table tennis player. She won a bronze medal in the Women's Team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics when she was 15 years old. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal with her partner Jun Mizutani in the Mixed Doubles ev ...

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

and

. Feng then lost the second match to singles silver medallist Sun Yingsha, 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 An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

: round of 16 (2007, 2009); QF (2013). * Asian Cup: 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). *

: 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). *

: 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 tourname ...

: 2nd (2009, 2010); 3rd (2011, 2013, 2015). *

: 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