(BEIJING, August 21) -- In the Table Tennis Men's Singles third round, Ko Lai-chak of Hong Kong China beat the reigning Olympic champion Ryu Seung-min 4-2, ending Ryu's hope of defending his title.

　　For Ryu, being eliminated in his first match in the Men's Singles competition is a nightmare come true. After loosing the first three games, Ryu fought back and won the next two games 11-4 and 11-5. But he failed to press home and lost the decisive sixth game 10-12 to the determined Ko.

　　Ryu has been in poor form in Beijing, losing five of his seven Singles matches in the Team events. It was suspected that this would be the match in which Ryu could be tested, and it turned out to be just that match. Ko Lai-chak is left-handed and the right-handed Ryu has experienced problems in recent years against left-handers, who prevent him from playing his powerful forehand.

　　Ko, ranked 32, will face World No. 14 Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany in the fourth round.