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Women's Quarter Finals battle: Sweden - Germany The German team had not lost a match, and Sweden made its
way through the challenge stage.
A VISA PROBLEM Burundi has been a troubled country for a number of years now. A military coup, the assassination of the president, 50000 people killed in three days in a civil war, another military coup ... The Burundi Team - 4 players, 1 coach, 1 delegate - had to sneak out of Burundi by bus, on to Rwanda where they hoped to get a visa on April 21, three days before the World Championships were set to begin. No luck in Rwanda, thus they could not board the plane to London. After contacting the British High Commissioner in Uganda, they got ona plane to Uganda to get visas. After another day's delay, the team was re-routed to Kenya where they caught another flight to London and then on to Manchester. On April 24, at 13:00, the exhausted team finally arrived at the hotel "Park Horse" in Manchester, only to find a note at the reception that their first match was scheduled for 13:00 that day. After the initial default, the team is now competing ...
PRESS CLIPPINGS:MANCHESTER England, (April 26) XINHUA - South Korea won their fifth straight match in the Group B on Saturday, moving into the women's team last eight at the World Table Tennis Championships. The South Koreans, runner-up to China at the last Worlds, whitewashed Lithuania 3-0 in their last group outing. Kim Moo Kyu, 24th in the world rankings, got a lopsided victory over Lithuanian Lina Stankute in the opening game, winning 21-11, 21-10 in less than 20 minutes. Ryue Ji Hye, rated 22nd in the world, won the second game over Kristina Totilaite, 21-18, 21-8. The 23rd-ranked Park Hye Jung rounded off the match with a 21-14, 21-11 win over Jolanta Prusiene. Hungary and Ukraine finished second and third in the group. Earlier on Saturday, Romania downed France in straight games to top Group D and secure a quarter-final place. Enditem 26/04/97 12:04 GMT Copyright 1997
MANCHESTER England, (April 26) XINHUA - China's world No. 7 Ding Song, who lost a game in the opening day of the men's team competition on Thursday, regained his form to pace China for a 3-0 blanking of Chinese Taipei at the World Table Tennis Championships on Saturday. Ding, who stunned Europeans in the 1995 championships with unique chop-and-attack play, clinched the opening game against Chinese Taipei, beating Chang Yuan-Su 21-14, 21-11. The 25-year-old Chinese, who lost to less known Slovenian Robert Smrekar on Thursday, took the advantage of Chang with consistent chopping defence and strong forehand topspins. World No. 6 Wang Tao, a stocky attacker playing close to the table, overwhelmed Yang Chao-Ming 21-16, 21-15, putting China 2-0 ahead. Olympic champion and World Cup winner Liu Guoliang won the third rubber for China, nipping Liu I-Teh 21-14, 21-18. It was the third straight victory for China, bidding for its 12th team championship here. China is to take on Yugoslavia this afternoon. Enditem 26/04/97 12:29 GMT Copyright 1997
MANCHESTER England, (April 26) XINHUA - Belarus' world No. 4 Vladimir Samsonov stunned table tennis all-time great Jan-Ove Waldner in the men's team competition of the 44th World Championships here on Saturday. Samsonov, a player willing to rally until his rival leaves an opening, changed the tactics and took initiative in attacking, winning the second rubber against Sweden's world No. 2 21-6, 21-7 in 10 minutes. The 20-year-old Belarussian, tipped as a favorite for the men's singles championship, outlasted Jorgen Persson in his second outing before Waldner completed Sweden's 3-2 win and third straight victory in the group by beating Evgueni Chtchetinine 21-16, 21-18. Waldner, the only male player who has won a Grand Slam of the Olympic, world championships and World Cup titles, wilted under the barrages and showed justifiable signs of nerves when Samsonov put up a very aggressive game. "I am a slow starter and I will play better in later games," said the 31-year-old Waldner, who lost a set to lowly ranked Austrian Qian Qianli on Friday. It was Samsonov's first win over Waldner since he upset the Swede 3-1 in the Swedish Open final in December, 1995. Waldner edged out Samsonov 3-2 in the World Cup last year and got the better of the Belarussian again in the Qatar Open in February. Samsonov showed his composure beyond years in the fourth game against 1991 world champion Persson, who won Sweden's first point by nipping Belarus' defensive player Chtchetinine. With one set down, Samsonov used his top spins and solid defence to win two sets in a row. The score was 18-21, 21-19, 21-14. Thomas von Scheele snatched the third game against Vitali Nekhvedovitch, winning 21-10, 21-18. Sweden has entered seven world championship finals since the 1980s and won four, in 1983, 1989, 1991 and 1993. Enditem 26/04/97 15:49 GMT Copyright 1997
MANCHESTER England, (April 26) XINHUA - China and Germany clinched their fifth straight wins in the group competition on Thursday, both moving into the women's team quarter-finals at the World Table Tennis Championships. Defending champion China beat Belgium 3-0 to top Group A and Germany nipped Chinese Taipei 3-1 to emerge winner in Group C. South Korea and Romania have also booked the quarter-final spots. Chinese youngsters Li Ju, Wang Nan and Wang Chen, ranked fifth, seventh and ninth in the world, completed China's 3-0 victory. Unlike China which only lost a game in five matches, European champion Germany won the group in a difficult fashion, with three matches fought to five games. Enditem 26/04/97 15:55 GMT Copyright 1997
MANCHESTER England, (April 26) XINHUA - Belgium edged out world runner-up Sweden 3-2 in their second-to-last Group B match as world No. 2 Jan-Ove Waldner failed to find his form and flair at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Saturday. Jean-Philippe Saive, rated a joint 50th in the world, snatched the deciding game against Waldner, virtually assuring Belgium a quarter-final berth in the men's team competition. Waldner, the only male in the world who has won the Olympic, World Championship and World Cup singles titles, looked lackluster throughout the day. Seven hours after being humiliated by Vladimir Samsonov in Sweden's 3-2 victory over Belarus, the 31-year-old star fell apart under the barrages of Philippe Saive and lost 21-9, 21-19. "Waldner was just too nervous," said Belgian head coach Wang Da Yong. Jorgen Persson, world singles champion in 1991, beat Philippe Saive 21-17, 21-15 in the opening game and Waldner downed Philippe's elder brother Jean-Michael 21-17, 21-14 in a clash of former world No. 1s. Belgian veteran Andras Podpinka snapped the Swedes' winning streak by stunning Peter Karlsson 21-14, 18-21, 22-20. Podpinka had beaten Karlsson only once in their previous four encounters. Michael Saive evened the score to 2-2, beating Persson 21-14, 17-21, 21-19 in the fourth game. The 28-year-old Belgian, who pulled off a desperately aggressive game, dived like a soccer goalie for a return to get himself 13-11 ahead in the deciding set. The elder Saive continued to press on Persson, who made two backhand errors to concede the match point. Each with a lightweight rival to beat on Sunday, unbeaten Belgium and Sweden, which has a 4-1 win-loss record, are expected to finish first and second in the Group B. According the new format, the winners from Group A to D go directly into the quarter-finals while second and third finishers in these groups have to vie for the remaining four berths with winners from Group E to T. Early in the day, world No. 4 Samsonov routed Waldner in straight sets. Samsonov, a player willing to rally until his rival leaves an opening, changed the tactics and took initiative in attacking, winning the second rubber against Waldner 21-6, 21-7 in 10 minutes. Waldner showed justifiable signs of nerves when Samsonov put up a very aggressive game. The 20-year-old Belarussian, tipped as a favorite for the men's singles championship, outlasted Persson in his second outing before Waldner completed Sweden's 3-2 win by beating Evgueni Chtchetinine 21-16, 21-18. It was Samsonov's first win over Waldner since he upset the Swede 3-1 in the Swedish Open final in December, 1995. Waldner edged out Samsonov 3-2 in the World Cup last year and got the better of the Belarussian again in the Qatar Open in February. Samsonov showed his composure beyond years in the fourth game against Persson, who won Sweden's first point by nipping Belarus' defensive player Chtchetinine. With one set down, Samsonov used his topspins and solid defence to win two sets in a row. The score was 18-21, 21-19, 21-14. Thomas von Scheele snatched the third game against Vitali Nekhvedovitch, winning 21-10, 21-18. Sweden has entered seven World Championship finals since the 1980s and won four, in 1983, 1989, 1991 and 1993. Defending champion China booked a quarter-final spot by beating Yugoslavia 3-1 for their fourth straight victory in Group C. Germany blanked South Korea 3-0, also securing a place in the last eight. In the women's team event, China, South Korea, Germany and Romania, all unbeaten in the groups, have moved into the quarter-finals on Sunday. Enditem 27/04/97 00:18 GMT Copyright 1997
ANCHESTER England, (April 25) XINHUA - Japanese tested the nerves of Chinese teenagers as they won a game in their 1-3 loss to defending champions at the women's team competition of the World Table Tennis Championships here on Friday. Keiko Okazaki beat China's world fourth-ranked Yang Ying at the third game, forcing world No. 1 Deng Yaping to round off the match. The 75th-ranked Japanese played a desperately aggressive game, won 21-13, 23-21 over the 19-year-old penholder, who became more and more impatient as her forehand attacks failed to make a kill. "This loss shows Yang is still young and she has a long way to go to catch up with Deng," said Chinese head coach Lu Yuansheng. "A defeat in group matches did more good than bad to Yang and she will be ready for tougher games," he added. The 24-year-old Deng, who has clinched 15 world championship and World Cup titles in her 11-year-long career, easily won the fourth game against Rika Matsuoka despite suffering serious ankle and back injuries. Deng, who has also collected four Olympic gold medals, had put China ahead as she routed Ai Sakata 21-7, 21-11 in less than 20 minutes at the opening game. Wang Nan, 18, the youngest player on the Chinese team, made it 2-0 with a 21-12, 21-15 victory over Rika. Japan benched top player Koyama Chire in a move that the Chinese coach called a show of cowardice. "Chire shunned this match because she didn't have confidence to beat Deng Yaping," said Lu. Chire, who won a world singles title in her Chinese name of He Zhili in 1987, joined the Japanese squad after marrying a Japanese coach. She hasn't met Deng since the upset victory over the world No. 1 in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan. China is to play its last group match against Belgium on Saturday. Germany clinched two five-set matches to move closer to the quarter-finals. Jie Schoepp clinched a dream sequence of seven points to win the deciding game, anchoring the German women to a cliff-hanging victory over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea early Friday. Germany later outlasted Hong Kong 3-2 in their second-to-last group match. In the men's competition, defending champion China nipped Italy 3-0. Sweden also had a clean sheet in its match against Austria. Enditem 25/04/97 23:06 GMT Copyright 1997
MANCHESTER England, (April 25) XINHUA - Jie Schoepp clinched a dream sequence of seven points to win the deciding game, anchoring the German women to a cliff-hanging victory over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Friday. World No. 14 Schoepp, a former Chinese who helped Germany win the European championship last year, outlasted Wil Bok Sun 21-9, 19-21, 22-20 in the fifth game. Trailing 9-16, the German defensive player got seven points in a row with consistent chopping play before she held the rival to 20-all. She suddenly changed her rhythm at the crucial moment, catching Wil nonplused with two slow flat shots. Schoepp put the European champion on track by beating DPR Korea's top player Kim Hyon Hui 21-7, 21-12 in the opening game. Wil pulled even with a 21-16, 21-14 win over Nicole Struce, singles runner-up at the European championships. Tu Jong Sil put the DPR Korea further ahead after nipping Olga Nemes 21-13, 21-19. Struce made it two-all with a 21-18, 21-17 triumph over Kim before Jie denied the DPR Korea a third straight victory. The DPR Korea, which had skipped the previous two world championships, won its opening two games on Thursday, beating Chinese Taipei and Italy in straight sets. The DPR Korea didn't send men players to Manchester. Hong Kong, which finished third in the last championships, took its third consecutive win on Friday, beating Italy 3-0. Chinese Taipei tasted victory early Friday with a convincing 3-0 win against the United States. Enditem 25/04/97 13:51 GMT Copyright 1997
By Sportswriter Cao Jianjie MANCHESTER England, (April 25) XINHUA - Chinese table tennis player Zhang Yong is the man behind Liu Guoliang's Olympic victories. The 22-year-old Zhang has been a sparring partner for Chinese star players Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui since joining the national team in 1993. Playing an aggressive game in handshake grip, the left-handed Zhang is the Chinese "Rosskopf" or "Gatien". "I have to owe to Zhang my victory over German Jorg Rosskopf in the Olympic Games," said the 20-year-old Liu, who had been held in awe by Rosskopf before Zhang rebuilt his confidence. Liu had taken sweet revenge over Rossokopf with a 3-1 victory before he beat teammate Wang Tao to win China's first Olympic men's singles title in Atlanta last summer. In the British Open early last year, Liu was so nervous in the deciding fifth set against Rosskopf that he dropped his bat twice to the ground and only got five points. "Six months of playing against Zhang made a difference," Liu said. During China's run-up for the Olympic Games and world championships, the versatile Zhang imitates the ways that top Europeans play. Playing like Rosskopf and France's 1993 world champion Jean-Philippe Gatien, both left-handers, has become his specialty. "When Chinese players are expected to face Rosskopf or Gatien in a competition, they play against me first," Zhang said. Zhang said Liu's Olympic victory over Rosskopf was the biggest-ever reward for him. "I have fulfilled my mission and proved my value in Liu's Olympic victory," Zhang said. Unlike most of the training partners in the Chinese team, imitating western playing styles is a part-time job for Zhang. Zhang, who got a doubles silver medal in the 1993 national championships, won the singles championship in the 1996 nationals where Liu Guoliang and world No. 1 Kong Linghui also competed. In the CCTV tennis tournament late last year, Zhang outlasted world champion Kong 3-2. "I have a poor record against Kong, but I have won half of the matches against Liu in the training," Zhang said. Zhang holds a bigger ambition than beating Liu and Kong. "I am young and I have confidence to be world champion by myself," he said. For Liu Wenhua, a training partner for the women's world No. 1 Deng Yaping, to be world champion is a goal beyond his reach. The 28-year-old Liu, called into the national team after placing fifth in a national competition in 1989, helped Deng regain the singles and doubles titles in the Atlanta Olympics. "Liu is an unknown hero for the Chinese women's dominance in the world," said Chinese coach Lu Yuansheng. Liu, who plays topspin game in handshake style, said his skill had been on a downtrend because his rivals lacked men's speed and firepower. "I always held an advantage when I played against Deng for the first several years, but now I don't," Liu said. "Deng has bettered her skills while I am on the decline. I has never reached the last eight in national competition since 1989." Liu holds no grudges as a stepping-stone for Chinese women's players and he has recently refused a coaching offer from a European club. "I am proud of what I am doing," Liu said. "When Deng and her teammates beat their rivals, I am much happier than them." Enditem 25/04/97 12:54 GMT Copyright 1997
MANCHESTER England, (April 25) XINHUA - The Chinese women were just too strong for the rest of the world as they blanked the Canadians for their third straight win at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Friday.
China's world No. 4 Yang Ying, conceded only 13 points in her 21-6, 21-7 victory over Canadian Kong Iwa in the opening game. The 19-year-old Yang, a penholder fast-attacker, quenched the China-born Kong with high-toss serves and ferocious forehand smashes. Li Ju, 19, ranked fifth in the world, put China 2-0 up with a straight-set victory over Lyne Desjardins and Wang Nan, 18, won the third game over Petra Cada in which she just lost 13 points. China's world No. 1 Deng Yaping didn't compete in the match, neither did Canadian top player Geng Li Juan, a former Chinese national currently ranked 11th in the world. On Thurday, 11-time world team champion China beat Australia and Russia. Enditem 25/04/97 12:22 GMT Copyright 1997
MANCHESTER England, (April 25) XINHUA - 1992 Olympic champion Jan-Ove Waldner led Sweden to a 3-0 victory over Austria on the second day of the men's team competition at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Friday. World No. 2 Waldner, the only male in the world who has won a Grand Slam of the Olympic, world championships and World Cup titles, edged out Qian Qianli in the second game. The 31-year-old Swede used his experience and deceptive serves to beat the 56th-ranked Qian 21-11, 14-21, 21-18. "I slackened off a bit in the second set, but I knew I would win," said Waldner. 1991 world singles champion Jorgen Persson handed a 21-11, 21-16 defeat to Werner Schlager in the opening game and Peter Karlsson rounded off Sweden's victory by nipping Kostadin Lengerov 21-13, 22-20. Sweden on Thursday beat Slovakia 3-1 and defending champion China overcame Slovenia with the same score. China and Sweden, who have met in six world championship finals with each winning three, are tipped to be finalists again. Enditem 25/04/97 11:32 GMT Copyright 1997
England's men, despite losing 3-1 to France in their final group match, reached the last 32 of the team event at the world table tennis championships in Manchester today and the English women beat both the United States and Luxembourg 3-2. The English men won three of their five group matches to get into their challenging position but were no match for France, who went through to the last 16. Only Alan Cooke, the 31-year-old Chesterfield player, was successful for England, his quick counter-hitting being too good for Patrick Chila whom he beat 21-19 21-17. But former world champion Jean-Philippe Gatien crushed England No 1 Matthew Syed 21-8 21-15, Damien Eloi defeated Carl Prean 21-14 25-23 and Chila then beat Syed 21-11 21-9. Later, England's Swedish coach, Soren Ahlen, said he thought that Syed was tired for his long-range defensive tactics are more physical than close-to-the table hitting. Ahlen, who was Swedish coach when his country won the men's singles, men's doubles and team event at the European championships in Bratislava, said he thought it would take England eight years to catch up with the Swedes and only if they were thoroughly dedicated. England's women, who had finished fifth in their pool, were only playing for a world ranking team place and in both matches the No 1 of the opposition was the best player on view. Lily Yip won both her singles for the United States and world No 14 Ni Xia Lian won two for Luxembourg but the English girls, Lisa Lomas, Andrea Holt and Helen Lower had greater strength in depth.
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