Hong Kong’s Lam Siu-hang will replace injured Chinese No. 5 Lin Shidong on the field for the ITTF World Cup in Macau, less than a week before the event starts next Monday.
The 20-year-old withdrew due to recurrent tendonitis and a partial tear in his rotator cuff. The medical staff and coaches described the player as having constant pain and limited movement of the shoulder due to increased fatigue from the intense competition schedule.
The coaching team made the decision to protect the long-term health of the World Cup runner-up, and Lin is currently unable to handle the intense competition of the World Cup.
Under the rules of the competition, the continental qualifier can be replaced by the highest-placed winner who lost in the quarter-finals from the continental cup competition.
Lam earned the spot after reaching the last eight at the 2026 Asian Cup in February. The other three losing quarter-finalists from the event have already qualified for the World Cup.
Currently ranked No. 93, Lam has performed well at the Asia Cup, coming from one game behind to beat then No. 12 Xiang Peng before losing in straight sets to Tomokazu Harimoto in the quarter-finals.
