China women battle hard at Worlds
GUANGZHOU: China's women fought off a tenacious North Korea on day two of the World Team Table Tennis Championships yesterday, but not before veteran Wang Nan suffered a shock defeat.
China's Wang, one of the world's most decorated paddlers with 20 world titles, went down fighting against a dogged Kim Jong despite a cheering crowd at the Guangzhou Gymnasium.
The Red Army then dispatched Olympic champion and world No 1 Zhang Yining and world No 2 Li Xiaoxia to fend off a fired-up North Korea and seal the encounter 3-1.
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China's Wang Nan reacts after being defeated by North Korea's Kim Jong during the women's preliminaries of the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, yesterday. China beat North Korea 3-1. AFP |
China coach Shi Zhihao said the tough battle was a wake-up call for his charges, unbeaten since 1993, as they prepare for the Olympics in Beijing, where they are expected to take a clean sweep of the golds.
"To lose a game is good because the Chinese women must wake up to themselves and realize that they are not always the strongest team in the world," he said.
But the defeat is a blow for Wang, the oldest member of the team at 29, who must impress Chinese officials here as she battles to qualify for the Olympics.
"I give myself zero points," Wang said afterwards, adding that she downed Kim at the last World Championships in Bremen in 2006.
China later easily got past Croatia 3-0, while North Korea licked their wounds by dismissing Sweden 3-1.
On the men's side South Korea impressed against the Czech Republic in Group B as it guns for its first team title, while Germany and Japan continued their unbeaten runs to stay top of Group C.
Japan thrashed France 3-0 while Germany, determined to finish higher than its third place at the last worlds, downed Serbia 3-1.
Singapore and Hong Kong also remain undefeated after they downed Belarus and Greece 3-0, respectively, in Group D.
Twenty-four countries are competing in four groups in division one of the week-long world championships. The first-placed teams in each group qualify for the quarterfinals, while the teams that finish second and third will battle it out for the remaining spots in the last eight.
The competition comes as the sport's governing body, the International Table Tennis Federation, seeks to restrict the number of mainly Chinese-born players, who dominate the top rankings, in elite competition.
An ITTF proposal aims to make it more difficult for paddlers to switch to play for another country in world events, a move that would hurt Chinese-born players who miss out on selection for China.
AFP
(China Daily 02/26/2008 page22)
