SINGAPORE — Richard Gonzales bowed to world No. 15 Gao Ning of Singapore, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, on Thursday and settled for the silver medal in the men’s singles of the 28th Southeast Asian Games table tennis competitions at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The 44-year-old Gonzales had a dream run to the final but was simply no match to Gao, 32, who won his fourth SEA Games singles medal with the loss of just a single set.
Gonzales won his second silver medal to add to the one he earned back in 2005, giving the Philippines its third silver in this biennial conclave before the opening ceremony on Friday night at the National Stadium here.
Gonzales was dominant in the preliminaries before preventing an all-Singapore final by beating 19-year-old Chew Zhe Yu Clarence, 11-4, 10-12, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10, in the semifinals.
Gonzales, who finished fifth with Rodel Valle in the men’s doubles, will next see action in the team event slated to start on Saturday.
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