Lin Yun-ju

{{Infobox table tennis player

| name = Lin Yun-Ju

| image = 08.05 總統接見桌球選手林昀儒 (48460894246).jpg

| caption = Lin in 2019

| native_name = 林昀儒

| nickname = The Silent Assassin{{cite web |url=https://www.ittf.com/2019/12/01/final-day-2019-chengdu-airlines-mens-world-cup/|title=Final Day: 2019 Chengdu Airlines Men's World Cup ( the silent assassin Lin Yun-Ju) |publisher=ITTF|date=3 December 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://t2diamond.com/2019/10/who-will-rule-seamaster-t2-diamond-2019-singapore/|title=Who Will Rule in Seamaster T2 Diamond 2019 Singapore? ( the silent assassin Lin Yun-Ju) |publisher= T2 Diamond Table Tennis League}}

, Little Lin mate (小林同學）

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|8|17|df=y}}

| birth_place = Yuanshan, Taiwan

| height = 1.74 m{{cite web|url=https://tleague.jp/player/detail.php?player=10057&year=2022|title=リンユンジュ Lin Yun-Ju|website=tleague.jp|language=ja|access-date=12 June 2023}}

| weight =

| playingstyle = Left-handed shakehand grip

| equipment = Butterfly Lin Yun-Ju SZLC with tenergy 05 hard on forehand and dignics 05 on backhand

| highest_rank = 5 (3 August 2021){{cite web|url=https://results.ittf.link/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=list&listid=45&Itemid=276&resetfilters=0&abc=121582&clearordering=0&clearfilters=0|title=Ranking History|website=results.ittf.link|access-date=3 September 2023}}

| current_rank = 12 (20 May 2025)

| club = Kinoshita Meister Tokyo (T.League){{cite web|url=https://tleague.jp/ranking/player.php?player=10057&year=2023&lang=en|title=Lin Yun Ju|website=tleague.jp|access-date=3 September 2023}}

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{TPE}}}}

}}

Lin Yun-Ju ({{zh|c=林昀儒|p=Lín Yún rú}} born 17 August 2001) is a Taiwanese table tennis player.[https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/table-tennis/athlete-profile-n1338649-lin-yun-ju.htm Table Tennis LIN Yun Ju – Tokyo 2020 Olympics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730230859/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/table-tennis/athlete-profile-n1338649-lin-yun-ju.htm |date=30 July 2021 }} Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Retrieved 30 July 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/2019/07/24/lin-yun-ju-real-deal/|title=Is Lin Yun-Ju the real deal?|date=24 July 2019|publisher=International Table Tennis Federation}} He is a left-handed player who plays with the shakehand grip.

Career

Lin began playing table tennis in third grade.{{cite web|url=https://www.taiwan-panorama.com/en/Articles/Details?Guid=e3e2e85d-7256-4df0-8130-dee8b26fded0&langId=3&CatId=7&postname=Table%20Tennis%20Prodigy%20Lin%20Yun-ju%20Lets%20His%20Paddle%20Do%20the%20Talking|title=Table Tennis Prodigy Lin Yun-ju Lets His Paddle Do the Talking|last=Su|first=Lynn|date=November 2021|website=Taiwan Panorama|access-date=24 February 2024}} He started competing on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) senior circuit in 2016.{{cite web|url=https://results.ittf.link/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=details&formid=99&rowid=121582&Itemid=266|title=Player profile|website=ittf.com|access-date=19 September 2022}} At age 14, he officially became a member of the national team at the 2016 World Team Championships, making him the youngest Taiwanese player to achieve this.

Lin made his debut in the men's singles event at the 2017 World Championships, where he lost in a seven-game battle in the first round to Bastian Steger.{{cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2017_WTTC_MS_128.pdf|title=Men's Singles Round of 128|website=ittf.com|access-date=24 May 2025}} He remained a member of the national team and competed alongside Chuang Chih-yuan and Chen Chien-an at the 2018 Asian Games, where they won a bronze medal in the men's team event.{{cite web|url=https://focustaiwan.tw/sports/201808280015|title=Asian Games: Taiwan gets bronze in table tennis men's team|work=Focus Taiwan|date=28 August 2018|access-date=24 May 2025}} That same year, he also took part in the 2018 Youth Olympics, where he and his teammate Su Pei-ling secured a bronze medal in the mixed team event.{{cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/2018/10/16/dramatic-conclusion-wang-chuqin-sun-yingsha-add-gold-medal-collection/|title=Dramatic end, honour for Japan, gold for China|website=ittf.com|date=16 October 2018|access-date=24 May 2025}}

=2019–2021=

In March 2019, Lin won the men's singles title at the ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open, defeating Mattias Falck in the final.{{cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/2019/03/24/oman-highlights-final-day-talent-shines/|title=Oman Highlights Final Day: talent shines through|website=ittf.com|date=24 March 2019|access-date=19 September 2022}} He also secured titles in the men's doubles with Liao Cheng-ting and in the mixed doubles with Cheng I-ching, completing a remarkable triple crown at the event. In the May world rankings, he surpassed Chuang Chih-yuan to become the highest-ranked Taiwanese player in men's singles.{{cite web|url=https://ranking.ittf.com/#/rankings/list/SEN/M;SINGLES/2019/18w|title=ITTF World Ranking Seniors - Men Singles May 2019|website=ittf.com|access-date=24 May 2025}} Lin reached the final of the Japan Open, where he lost to Xu Xin.{{cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/2019/06/16/xu-xin-claims-triple-crown-sapporo/|title=Xu Xin claims triple crown in Sapporo|website=ittf.com|date=16 June 2019|access-date=24 May 2025}} He then went on to win two consecutive tournaments: first, the T2 Diamond Malaysia in July,{{cite web |url=https://www.ittf.com/2019/07/21/t2-diamond-lin-yun-ju-zhu-yuling-win-johor-bahru/ |title=T2 Diamond: Lin Yun-Ju and Zhu Yuling win in Malaysia |date=21 July 2019 |first= Ian |last=Marshall|publisher=International Table Tennis Federation}} followed by his first ITTF World Tour title at the Czech Open in August, at the age of only 18.{{cite news |url=https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=2,6,10,15,18&post=161220 |title=Taiwan table tennis phenom Lin Yun-ju wins Czech Open|date= 28 August 2019 |work=Taiwan Today }} In these tournaments, he defeated several top players, including Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, and Timo Boll.{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/table-tennis-teen-prodigy-lin-yun-ju-lets-his-bat-do-the-talking|title=Table tennis: Teen prodigy Lin Yun-ju lets his bat do the talking |date=20 November 2019|first=Nicole|last= Chia |work=The Straits Times }}

Lin broke into the world's top ten in September 2019.{{cite web|url=https://ranking.ittf.com/#/rankings/list/SEN/M;SINGLES/2019/36w|title=ITTF World Ranking Seniors - Men Singles September 2019|website=ittf.com|access-date=24 May 2025}} He later reached another T2 Diamond final in Singapore, where he was once again defeated by Xu Xin.{{cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/2019/11/24/different-duels-xu-xin-sun-yingsha-win-singapore/|title=Different duels decide diamond destiny; Xu Xin and Sun Yingsha win in Singapore|website=ittf.com|date=24 November 2019|access-date=24 May 2025}} He went on to beat Ma Long to win the bronze medal at the Men's World Cup, becoming the first Taiwanese player ever to medal in the event.{{cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/2019/12/01/final-day-2019-chengdu-airlines-mens-world-cup/|title=Final Day: 2019 Chengdu Airlines Men's World Cup|website=ittf.com|date=3 December 2019|access-date=24 May 2025}}

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lin trained in China alongside members of the Chinese national team and other selected foreigners from late 2020 until early 2021.{{Cite web|date=14 February 2021|title=WTT Doha 2021 Preview Part 3: Women's Singles seeds 5 To 8|url=https://edgesandnets.com/2021/02/13/2021-qatar-open-preview-womens-singles-seeds-5-8/|access-date=25 February 2021|website=edgesandnets.com|language=en-US}} His first international event during this period was the WTT Contender at World Table Tennis' inaugural event, WTT Doha, where he reached the finals after defeating Quadri Aruna in the quarterfinals and Simon Gauzy in the semifinals,{{Cite web|date=5 March 2021|title=Lin Yun-Ju Staves Off Quadri Aruna Comeback On Path To WTT Contender Finals|url=https://edgesandnets.com/2021/03/05/lin-yun-ju-staves-off-quadri-aruna-comeback-on-path-to-wtt-contender-finals/|access-date=6 March 2021|website=edgesandnets.com|language=en-US}} before being upset by Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the final.{{Cite web|date=25 March 2021|title=How Dimitrij Ovtcharov Solved The Lin Yun-Ju Problem at WTT Doha|url=https://edgesandnets.com/2021/03/25/how-dimitrij-ovtcharov-solved-the-lin-yun-ju-problem-at-wtt-doha/|access-date=25 March 2021|website=edgesandnets.com|language=en-US}} In the WTT Star Contender event, Lin suffered a quarterfinal upset against Ruwen Filus.{{Cite web|date=12 March 2021|title=6 Ruwen Filus Shots To Watch Out For in the WTT Doha Finals|url=https://edgesandnets.com/2021/03/12/6-ruwen-filus-shots-to-watch-out-for-in-the-wtt-doha-finals/|access-date=12 March 2021|website=edgesandnets.com|language=en-US}} However, Lin left Doha having secured the fourth seed for the men's singles event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.{{Cite web|date=17 March 2021|title=Feng Tianwei Was The Biggest Winner at WTT Doha – Edges and Nets|url=https://edgesandnets.com/2021/03/17/feng-tianwei-was-the-biggest-winner-at-wtt-doha/|access-date=17 March 2021|website=edgesandnets.com|language=en-US}} In April, the ITTF amended the Olympic seeding system, causing Lin to drop to the fifth seed, below Hugo Calderano.{{Cite web|date=19 April 2021|title=World Table Tennis News Roundup – 04/19/21 – Edges and Nets|url=https://edgesandnets.com/2021/04/19/world-table-tennis-news-roundup-04-19-21/|access-date=19 April 2021|website=edgesandnets.com|language=en-US}}

At the Tokyo Olympics, Lin first competed in the mixed doubles event with Cheng I-ching. As the third seed, the pair lost in the semifinals to Japan's Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito but went on to claim the bronze medal by defeating Emmanuel Lebesson and Jia Nan Yuan.{{cite news|url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/4258820|title=Taiwanese table tennisteam wins bronze at Tokyo Olympics|work=Taiwan News|date=26 July 2021|access-date=24 May 2025}} In the men's singles event, Lin lost a seven-game semifinal to Fan Zhendong and ultimately placed fourth after falling to Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the bronze-medal match, where he missed four match points.{{cite news|url=https://focustaiwan.tw/sports/202107290015|title=Taiwan's Lin loses to top-seeded player in Olympic table tennis nailbiter|work=Focus Taiwan|date=29 July 2021|access-date=24 May 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/07/31/2003761764|title=Lin Yun-ju falls short of bronze in Olympic bid|work=Taipei Times|date=31 July 2021|access-date=24 May 2025}} In the final table tennis event, the men's team competition, Lin defeated Ovtcharov, but Chinese Taipei was eliminated by Germany 3–2 in the quarterfinals.{{Cite web|date=3 August 2021|title=Olympic Table Tennis Team Quarterfinal Round-Up|url=https://edgesandnets.com/2021/08/03/olympic-table-tennis-team-quarterfinal-round-up/|access-date=3 August 2021|website=edgesandnets.com|language=en-US}}

At the World Championships following the Olympics, Lin was eliminated in the third round of the men's singles.{{cite web|url=https://eventresults.ittf.com/eventInfo?subEvt=MSINGLES&selectedTab=Draws&eventId=2346|title=2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals|website=ittf.com|access-date=24 May 2025}} However, he and Cheng I-ching advanced to the semifinals in the mixed doubles event and claimed Lin's first World Championships medal after losing to the Chinese duo Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha.{{cite news|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2021/11/30/2003768762|title=Taiwan duo take bronze at champs|work=Taipei Times|date=30 November 2021|access-date=24 May 2025}}

= 2022–2024 =

In 2022, Lin claimed the men's singles title at the WTT Contender Zagreb, defeating China's Xiang Peng in the final.{{cite news|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2022/06/21/2003780246|title=Lin Yun-ju wins final in Zagreb|work=Taipei Times|date=21 June 2022|access-date=24 May 2025}} He also reached the final at the WTT Contender Almaty, where he lost to Germany's Ruwen Filus in a tightly contested seven-game match.{{cite web|url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1128208/wtt-contender-almaty|title=Filus and Hayata claim singles titles at WTT Contender in Almaty|website=insidethegames.biz|date=18 September 2022|access-date=24 May 2025}} In 2023, Lin once again defeating Xiang Peng to win the men's singles title at WTT Contender Almaty.{{cite web|url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1140503/lin-wins-almaty-contender|title=Lin secures men's singles gold at WTT Contender in Almaty|website=insidethegames.biz|date=3 September 2023|access-date=24 May 2025}} That year, he also secured three medals at the 2023 Asian Championships and added two more medals at the Asian Games, further proving his strength on the international stage.{{cite web|url=https://results.ittf.com/ittf-web-results/html/TTE2773/results.html#/knock-outs|title=26th ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023|website=ittf.com|access-date=24 May 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://focustaiwan.tw/sports/202309250022|title=Taiwanese men settle for table tennis team bronze at Asian Games|work=Focus Taiwan|date=25 September 2023|access-date=24 May 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://focustaiwan.tw/sports/202310010009|title=Taiwan wins 1st men's doubles table tennis medal at Asian Games since 2006|work=Focus Taiwan|date=1 October 2023|access-date=24 May 2025}} Lin achieved a major milestone by winning his first WTT Champions title in Frankfurt, with an impressive series of victories over Patrick Franziska, Benedikt Duda, Tomokazu Harimoto, Wang Chuqin, and Ma Long.{{cite web|url=https://worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?subEvt=MSINGLES&selectedTab=Draws&eventId=2705|title=WTT Champions Frankfurt 2023|website=worldtabletennis.com|access-date=7 November 2023}}

At the 2024 World Team Championships, Lin competed as the highest-ranked player on the Chinese Taipei men's team.{{cite web|url=https://worldtabletennis.com/teamseventInfo?selectedTab=Player%20List&eventId=2751|title=ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals Busan 2024|website=worldtabletennis.com|access-date=24 May 2025}} The team defeated Sweden to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://worldtabletennis.com/description?artId=3460|title=Late Drama As Denmdark Celebrates Olympic Qualification In Style|website=worldtabletennis.com|access-date=24 May 2025}} In the quarterfinals, they surprised many by sweeping Germany 3–0, but later lost to France in the semifinals.{{cite web|url=https://www.ittf.com/2024/02/23/ittf-world-championships-finals-2024-day-8-follow-the-action-live/|title=ITTF World Championships Finals 2024 Day 8|website=ittf.com|date=23 February 2024|access-date=24 May 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ettu.org/en-n-news-2024-february-france-reached-the-final-at-the-world-championships-ending-almost-three-decades-of-drought/|title=France reached the final at the World Championships ending almost three decades of drought|website=ettu.org|date=24 February 2024|access-date=24 May 2025}} With this result, the team matched its best finish in the event, first reached in 2014. Lin went on to compete in three events at the 2024 Summer Olympics, but despite high hopes, he was knocked out in the quarterfinals of all three.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/olympic-table-tennis-recap-july-28-sun-and-wang-march-towards-gold|title=Olympic table tennis recap, July 28: Sun and Wang march towards gold|website=nbcolympics.com|date=28 July 2024|access-date=24 May 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2024/08/03/2003821704|title=Lee and Wang book final berth|work=Taipei Times|date=3 August 2024|access-date=24 May 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/08/ae9d0e4e4586-olympics-japan-table-tennis-teams-advance-to-semifinals-in-paris.html|title=Olympics: Japan table tennis teams advance to semifinals in Paris|work=Kyodo News|date=7 August 2024|access-date=24 May 2025}}

Personal life

Lin was born in Yuanshan, Yilan County, Taiwan. He graduated from Taipei Municipal Nei-Hu Vocational High School and is currently studying at Fu Jen Catholic University.{{cite web|url=https://www.fju.edu.tw/newsDetail.jsp?newsID=6186&newsClassID=6|title=賀!!本校體碩二鄭怡靜、體大一林昀儒同學桌球混雙取得2020東京奧運門票|language=zh|website=Fu Jen Catholic University|date=13 December 2019}}

Achievements

=Major tournaments=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:small;" \|+ Best results at the Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup ! rowspan="2" width="140" \|Tournaments ! colspan="4" width="320" \|Events
width="80" \|Singles ! width="80" \|Men's doubles ! width="80" \|Mixed doubles ! width="80" \|Team
Olympic Games \|4th \|— \|style="background: #ffcc99;" \|3rd \|Quarterfinals
World Championships \|Quarterfinals \|style="background: #e5e5e5;" \|2nd \|style="background: #ffcc99;" \|Semifinals \|style="background: #ffcc99;" \|Semifinals
World Cup \|style="background: #ffcc99;" \|3rd \|— \|— \|style="background: #ffcc99;" \|Semifinals

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:small;"

Best results at the Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup

! rowspan="2" width="140" |Tournaments

! colspan="4" width="320" |Events

width="80" |Singles

! width="80" |Men's
doubles

! width="80" |Mixed
doubles

! width="80" |Team

Olympic Games

|4th

|—

|style="background: #ffcc99;" |3rd

|Quarterfinals

World Championships

|Quarterfinals

|style="background: #e5e5e5;" |2nd

|style="background: #ffcc99;" |Semifinals

World Cup

|style="background: #ffcc99;" |3rd

|—

|style="background: #ffcc99;" |Semifinals

=Singles titles=

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"

! Year

! Tournament

! Final opponent

! Score

! Ref

rowspan="3"|2019

|ITTF Challenge Plus, Oman Open

|{{flagicon|SWE}} Mattias Falck

|4–2

T2 Diamond Malaysia

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Fan Zhendong

|4–1

|{{cite web|url=https://t2diamond.com/malaysia/#knockouts|title=T2 Diamond Malaysia|website=t2diamond.com|access-date=19 September 2022}}

ITTF World Tour, Czech Open

|{{flagicon|GER}} Dimitrij Ovtcharov

|4–1

|{{cite web|url=https://results.ittf.com/ittf-web-results/html/TTE5009/results.html#/knock-outs|title=2019 ITTF World Tour, Czech Open|website=ittf.com|access-date=19 September 2022}}

2022

|WTT Contender Zagreb

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Xiang Peng

|4–0

|{{cite web|url=https://worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?subEvt=MSINGLES&selectedTab=Draws&eventId=2539|title=WTT Contender Zagreb 2022|website=worldtabletennis.com|access-date=19 September 2022}}

rowspan="2"|2023

|WTT Contender Almaty

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Xiang Peng

|4–1

|{{cite web|url=https://worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?subEvt=MSINGLES&selectedTab=Draws&eventId=2739|title=WTT Contender Almaty 2023|website=worldtabletennis.com|access-date=3 September 2023}}

WTT Champions Frankfurt

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Ma Long

|4–1