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Games-Table Tennis: S.Korea's Kim deprives China of sweep
1998-12-16
BANGKOK - Aggressive back-court play by South Korean table tennis hero Kim Taek-soo crushed China's Liu Guoliang in the men's singles final on Wednesday, depriving China of an Asian Games gold medals sweep. The ecstatic 28-year-old leapt into the arms of his coach after beating Liu 21-16, 21-14, 22-20. Bronze medals went to South Korea's Oh Sang-eun and the Chinese favourite Kong Linghui, who Kim wiped out in the semifinal. Kim's triumph was unsurprising to many, as the world number 11 had beaten Liu two months ago in the table tennis World Cup. Despite Liu's defeat, the Chinese 21-year-old will move up a place in the world ranking to take the number one spot. Kim's win moves him up three places to 8th. ``I believed in myself today,'' Kim said. ``I was a fighter. It is very important to be a fighter.'' Kim started his charge in the first set when he battled from 12-16 down to win 21-16. South Korean coach Ahn Che-hyung praised Kim for keeping his cool at the critical moment. ``Mentally, Kim is usually too excited in Olympics and big competitions, but this time he took the opportunity in the first set. He made Liu very nervous, and at that moment I think he knew he could beat him,'' he said. Chinese head coach Cai Zhenhua had earlier expected a gold in the singles from China's number one Kong, but had feared the might of the South Korean. ``Kim Taek-soo is so dangerous,'' Cai warned after Kong's defeat. After asserting himself in the first set, Kim heated up the pace in the second with scorching forehands from the back of the court. He relentless pursued Liu's smashes, returning them with giant lobs which unnerved his opponent. ``Of course we expected him to win,'' said the director general of the South Korean Table Tennis Federation, Paek Myung-youn. ``Kim trained hard and it was an amazing win.'' China took the final gold medal in the women's doubles when Wang Nan and Li Ju joined forces, after facing each other in Tuesday's women's final, won by Wang, to defeat newcomers from Hong Kong, Chan Tan-Lui and Song Ah-Sim 21-7 21-8. The Hong Kong pair had only been together for four months and were surprised to find themselves in the final. ``We never expected to get this far,'' said Chan, 31, who partners the 18-year-old Song. ``We are just happy to get the silver.'' It was Wang's fourth gold medal of the tournament and gave China six out of the seven gold medals up for grabs. The 20-year-old is set to rise three places to the number one rank after her triumphs in the doubles, the singles, the mixed doubles with partner Wang Liqin and the women's team gold. She replaces Chinese world champion and Olympic multi-gold medallist Deng Yaping who has recently semi-retired from the sport to concentrate on her degree at Qinghua University. ``I have got a lot out of these Asian Games. My technique has been on form, but here I have been able to calm down much more,'' Wang said. Asked how she felt about ousting Deng from the top, she said: ``I didn't think about it before. I may de-throne her, but I still need to prepare my mental strength.'' [Reuters]
Queen of ping pong Wang in Olympic bid (2000-08-31)China seeking to maintain table tennis dominance (2000-08-10)Games-Table Tennis: S.Korea's Kim deprives China of sweep (1998-12-16)Deng Yaping: No Retirement Yet (1997-10-08)Table Tennis Championship: China Won 6 Out of 7 Titles; Deng Yaping Took 3 Alone (1997-05-06)
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