DAKAR, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Ryuusei Kawakami added the men's singles table tennis gold to his mixed doubles title, defeating Colombia's Emanuel Otalvaro in a thrilling final at the Youth Olympic Games on Thursday.
Coming from behind to win both the first and third games, the 17-year-old Kawakami eventually prevailed in a 46-minute battle, winning 15-13, 11-7, 13-11, 6-11, 2-11, 11-6 to match the two-gold feat achieved by compatriot Koki Niwa at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Kawakami teamed up with 13-year-old Miku Matsushima, the younger sister of men's world No. 1 Sora Matsushima, to win mixed doubles gold on Tuesday.
"A hard-earned victory earlier in the day boosted my confidence, and coming from behind twice in the final really fired me up," said Kawakami, who edged South Korea's Lee Seungsoo 4-2 in the semifinals, with Lee winning the second game 20-18.
Kawakami, who tops the world under-17 rankings, is currently ranked 64th in the senior ITTF rankings and said he aims to break into the top 30 soon.
Lee defeated Li Ki Ho of Hong Kong, China, 4-2 to claim bronze.
In the women's final, Chen Minhsin secured Chinese Taipei's first table tennis gold at the Youth Olympic Games by defeating Singapore's Loy Ming Ying 4-2 (5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-13, 11-7, 12-10).
"Loy has done well today too and posed quite a threat to me. I tried to gain the upper hand, take the initiative, and take it one point at a time," said Chen.
"In terms of tactics or tempo, I just tried to put my opponent under pressure so that she can't produce too many high-quality shots and it would be easier for me to defend.
"I came here for the gold medal. I knew I stood a chance. I feel quite happy, and I definitely feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. It's always good to go back with a medal, but a gold is best."
China endured its worst-ever performance in Youth Olympic table tennis, with Li Hechen and Yao Ruixuan both eliminated from their respective singles events after an earlier exit in the mixed doubles.
At the previous Youth Olympic Games, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha swept all the table tennis titles on offer. ■
