Chen Min-Hsin wins Dakar 2026 gold

Chen Min-Hsin wins Chinese Taipei's first Youth Olympic table tennis gold

5 November 2026: the fifth seed beats Singapore's Loy Ming Ying 4-2 in Dakar after losing a group match

Chen Min-Hsin won the women's singles at the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 on 5 November, giving Chinese Taipei its first Youth Olympic table tennis gold.

The fifth seed beat Singapore's Loy Ming Ying, the tenth seed, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-13, 11-7, 12-10 in the final at the Dakar Expo Centre. Loy took the first game and levelled at 2-2 with a 13-11 fourth, but Chen won the fifth and held on in a tense sixth.

Her route was a hard one. Chen lost a group match to Austria's Nina Skerbinz, who topped the group, then beat China's third seed Yao Ruixuan in the round of 16, Germany's Koharu Itagaki, and top seed Miku Matsushima of Japan in straight games in the semi-finals.

"I came here for the gold medal. I knew I stood a chance," the 17-year-old said after the final. "It's always good to go back with a medal, but a gold is best."

Chen had already won mixed doubles bronze with Lin Chin-Ting earlier in the week. Loy's silver is Singapore's first Youth Olympic table tennis medal since Isabelle Li's silver at Singapore 2010, the ITTF said. Hong Kong, China's Su Tsz Tung beat Matsushima 4-3 for bronze.

Matsushima, 13, still leaves Dakar as an Olympic champion after winning the mixed doubles with Ryuusei Kawakami, who also took the men's singles.

Kit corner

For young players moving up, all-round blades such as the Tibhar Felix Lebrun ALL are a sensible step before carbon. Kawakami plays Butterfly Zyre 03 on both sides.

Sources: ITTF, 5 Nov 2026 · Olympics.com · Xinhua, 6 Nov 2026 · ÖTTV (Austrian federation)

For rising stars