09/22/2012        Volkswagen 2012 Women's World Cup

Victory over Sweden’s Matilda Ekholm late on the afternoon of Saturday 22nd September 2012 brought participation for Hong Kong’s Tie Yana to a close in the Volkswagen Women’s World Cup in Huangshi.

She beat Matilda Ekholm in six games (12-10, 10-12, 10-12, 12-10, 11-4, 11-8) to secure third place in the group and relegate the Swede to fourth spot; for both the tournament was over as it had been in effect before the contest started.

Earlier both had lost to Austria’s Liu Jia and Spain’s Shen Yanfei.

Watch interview with Tie Yana on itTV

Top Place
Top place in the group went to Spain.

Shen Yanfei, in the form of her life, beat Liu Jia in five games (11-6, 8-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-7).

Extend Record
Farewell to Tie Yana, who was competing in the tournament for a record consecutive time, but it is not farewell.

“I’m proud of my record, I’m proud that I’ve played in the tournament a record number of times”, smiled Tie Yana. “I intend to keep going, I want to play more in the competition, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen times!”

Delightful to Watch
Keep going girl; it’s a delight to watch you play.

Tie Yana has one of the most fluent backhands in the world, a joy to behold; sometimes the forehand can be a little slap-happy but we forgive her!

Not Well Prepared
Alas for the attractive wife of Tang Peng, it was defeat in opposition to players against whom she has a good history.

“My preparation has not been that detailed for this tournament”, explained Tie Yana, with regards to her defeats against Shen Yanfei and Liu Jia.

Need for Systematic Training
“I think the players who have been playing in Europe are better prepared for this event”, she continued. “I haven’t really undergone any systematic training for this tournament.”

Ambitious

Nowadays, Tie Yana, 33 years old, is now moving into the “more experienced player category” but she is still very ambitious.

“I want to continue, to try to improve and to win a World title”, she added.

“However, if that doesn’t happen and a young player from Hong Kong can win a World title I’ll be just as pleased.”

So will the whole of Hong Kong China!

Credit to All
Tie Yana we look forward to seeing you next year and for many years to come; not an angry bone in her body, she is a credit to Hong Kong, a credit to table tennis, a credit to sport.

Just next year do me a favour please!

Disguise fair nature with hard favoured rage and win!