SPORTS> China
Wang Liqin just lucky to beat Boll - coach
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-12 10:41

CHANGSHA, Central China - Chinese head coach Liu Guoliang said on Sunday he was not happy with Wang Liqin's performance though he defeated Timo Boll of Germany to set up an all-Chinese men's singles final against teammate Wang Hao at the season-ending Tournament of Champions.

"Boll should have won the semifinal because he played better," said Liu, a Grand Slam winner of Olympic, world championship and World Cup titles. "Wang Liqin was just luckier to come out the winner."

Trailing 3-1 in sets, Wang rallied to upset Boll 9-11, 9-11, 13-11, 4-11, 15-13, 11-6, 11-9.

"It's a very tough game," said Wang. "I could have lost it if I did not change my tactics. The key to victory was to give more of my strong suit, like forehand play and top-spin rally."

The former world No. 1 admitted he had a hard time after the ban on the solvent-based speed glue took effect last September, while Boll seemed to have adapted quickly to the change.

"Boll had an excellent job done with the water-base glue. It seems that he has overcome the impact of the glue ban," said Liu Guoliang, who guided China to a clean sweep of four gold medals in last summer's Olympic Games.

"That's what called a TRUE match," added Liu. "Both ends of the table have spared nothing to fight. I think Boll lost just because he lacked self-confidence after a poor record against Chinese players recently."

Boll, who has long been regarded a major threat to China's dominance in the sport, had won several ITTF ProTour Open events this season with the absence of Chinese players.