Smashing integrity: Table tennis duo Izaac Quek and Koen Pang

In elite sport, where victory often comes at all costs, sportsmanship may not always rank high on an athlete’s priority list.

But on Feb 24, with the decider of their Singapore Smash men’s doubles last-16 match tied at 5-5, Singapore’s Koen Pang and Izaac Quek displayed rectitude – strict honesty, moral integrity and correct behaviour – even when the stakes were high.

They were awarded a point when Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes and Santiago Lorenzo got a red card for time-wasting. When their opponents protested, Quek instinctively agreed he and Pang were not ready to receive the serve.

The 20-year-old said: “I told the umpire it’s not fair to give them the red card, but she said she could not reverse it.”

It would have been easy to accept the decision. Instead, the Singaporeans agreed to concede the next point and Pang swatted Lorenzo’s serve away to make it 6-6.

He said: “We wanted to do the right thing, and I’d rather lose honourably than win dirty. To me, it’s more important to be viewed as an honest and respectful athlete than to win at all costs.”

The Singaporeans eventually lost the decider 11-9, and at least 430 ranking points and US$650 (S$824) in prize money.

But they won the respect of netizens, including Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who commented in a Facebook post: “Better to lose the right way than to win the wrong way. They chose sportsmanship over winning. It’s how life is best lived.”

For the duo, these were the values that their parents instilled in them.

Pang’s parents Barry and Christina told him biblical stories and prayed they would shape him into a man of godly character.

Quek was five when his parents David and Chew Soon instructed him to return an extra 20 cents change to a drinks stall.

At the 2024 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup in China, he tracked down a fan to return AirPods that she had misplaced in a gift bag for him.

The pair’s shared values are an extension of their chemistry on the table, along with the friendship they built since becoming national teammates, singles rivals and, now doubles partners.

Off the table, they also bond over mobile games like Valorant and Pokemon.

Quek said: “How we view and understand table tennis is similar. At crucial points, I would already know what Koen wants just by sensing what happened earlier. We rely on hand signs and simple conrmations, and don’t need long conversations.”

Unlike in other racket sports, table tennis doubles partners must alternate shots, adding another element of difficulty.

Pang said: “I feel more at ease and comfortable playing with Izaac. After partnering for four years, it feels like we can play together on autopilot.

“Such chemistry is very important – we need to know what our partner likes and dislikes instead of playing only to our own strengths. We need to be comfortable about being uncomfortable to set up the best next shot for our partner.”

Their telepathic understanding has helped them achieve several milestones, including silver at the 2024 Asian Table Tennis Championships, back-to-back golds at the 2023 and 2025 SEA Games, and reaching a career-high men’s doubles world No. 4 in February.

Now ranked 11th, they are eyeing a surprise medal at the Asian Games.

Pang said: “It’s still going to be extremely tough as the majority of those in front of us are Asians, and we are still getting used to the pressure at the top and being as steady as we can.

“We are more comfortable being underdogs. If we go far enough to play the big guns, we will try our best to play to our strengths and be as aggressive as we can.”