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Zhang/Wang win
women's doubles gold |
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ZAGREB, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Defending
Olympic and world champion Wang Nan/Zhang Yining beat fellow Chinese Guo
Yue/Li Xiaoxia 11-5,11-6, 13-11, 11-9 to win the women's doubles gold medal
at the world table tennis championships here on Sunday. |
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Editor: Mu Xuequan |
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Chen Qi/Ma Lin win
men's doubles |
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The score was 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-3,
11-9, 11-9. Trailing 8-10 in the sixth set, Wang
Hao's return clipped the net to fall on Chen's table. Following the lucky point, Wang missed
an easy kill to hand the title to Chen/Ma. |
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Guo Yue crowned
world champ in women's singles |
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Zhang Yining and Guo Yan, both of The 18-year-old Guo was jolted awake in
the fifth set, sweeping three sets in a row to triumph 8-11, 11-7, 4-11,
2-11, 11-5, 11-2, and 11-8. Fourth-seeded Guo, who stunned defending
Olympic and world champion Zhang Yining in the semi-finals, didn't find her
touch until the end of the fourth set, in which she had once trailed 0-9. Guo used her forehand topspin and
lightning backhand flicks to win the fifth set 11-5 and then the sixth 11-2. Both players were technically correct in
the final set but the championship game was usually a battle of minds. At the
end of the fourth set the momentum was with Li, now it was with Guo. Li looked disconsolate as she made
errors with Guo moving into a 4-0 lead. When the players changed ends Guo was
5-0 ahead, prompting Li to call "Time Out". She returned to serve a
clean ace. Guo called "Time Out" with a
7-3 lead and then went ahead 10-4. Saving four match points, Li closed it
to 8-10. Then Guo served a topspin which looked like an underspin, Li
misjudged the spin and returned well off the table. "It was a difficult game,"
said Guo. "But a more difficult game will be the doubles semi-final
against Guo, who won the mixed doubles with Wang
Liqin on Friday, will take on Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young on Sunday. The other semi-final is between "I was a bit hesitant and made
quite a few mistakes early in the final," Guo said. "When I was
cornered, I told myself to fight to the end." When asked if a world title would ensure
an Olympic berth in 2008, Guo said she was not sure. Li Xiaoxia, however, is hopeful of an
Olympic ticket. "I lost the final but had won the
semi-final against Guo Yan," said Li. "With the Olympics one year
to go, a lot of things will happen." Chinese coaches are mulling over the
selection of three singles players for the Beijing Games. Zhang Yining, a Guo Yue, Guo Yan and Li Xiaoxia will
have to fight for the last Olympic ticket. The problem is Guo Yue hailing from the
same province with Wang Nan. Playing in an Olympic Games is a huge honor for
Chinese local teams. If either of Guo and Wang, both from north-eastern In the last event of the day, Chen Qi/Ma
Lin beat Wang Liqin/ Wang Hao in the all-Chinese men's doubles final, 6-11,
11-7, 6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9. While the Wangs trailed 8-10 in the
sixth set, a return by Wang Hao clipped the net to fall on Chen's table. Following the lucky point, Wang missed
an easy kill to hand the title to Chen/Ma. Earlier, Olympic champion Ryu Seung Min
from Before the Ryu-Boll match, Boll, the third seed and last hope of The turning point came in the second
set, when Ryu erased Boll's 6-0 lead with an 11-1 run. Boll saved two match points in the
fourth set but a return to the net and a wayward backhand shot ended his "Boll looked very nervous,"
commented Ryu after the game. "I had made a lot of
mistakes," said Boll. "But I have tried my best." Ryu will take on defending champion Wang
Liqin from Wang Liqin, twice world champion, beat
fellow Chinese Hao Shuai11-7, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8. Earlier, Ma Lin trounced sixth seed
Samsonov 11-9, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6 in a clash of two hungry tigers. Ma has won four World Cups, but has
never owned a world championship or Olympic singles title. Samsonov has never claimed a world
championship either, although he has won three European top honours and two
World Cups. Ma Lin, twice world runner-up, tried to
avoid long rallies with the 1.90m-tall Samsonov as the penholder attacked
early with powerful forehand. The tactics worked well. "We know each other's play and
today's game was just a normal one to me," said Ma. "Ma Lin is very difficult. I need
something special in my game to beat him," said Samsonov. In the other quarter-final, Chinese Wang
Hao, a surprise loser to Ryu Seung Min in the 2004 Olympic final, beat South
Korean Joo Se Hyuk 11-4, 11-9, 11-3, 11-3. |
