Table Tennis Master Blog

Wang Chen falls short in quarter final

Lex — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:43:15 +0000

August 21, 2008
Wang Chen of the U.S. advanced further than any player ever had but fell short of a victory in the quarter final round against a talented Li Jia Wei from Singapore. Wang had secured her spot in the quarter’s after defeating South Korea’s Kim Kyung-Ah 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5. Wang fell to her knees in tears of joy after the victory.

The 34-year-old Wang did not appear to have the skills to knock off Wei in the biggest match of her life. Wang, came to Beijing ranked 23rd in the world vs. Wei who is seven years her junior and came into the tournament ranked sixth in the world. Wang fought hard but simply did not seem to have the tools, she eventually lost 15-13, 11-6, 12-10, 13-15, 11-4.

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American makes history at Olympics

Lex — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:46:20 +0000

August 20, 2008
Wang Chen of the U.S. defeated Kim Kyung-ah of South Korea on Thursday becoming the first American in Olympic table tennis history to make it to the quarterfinals. She accomplished this in 7 sets winning 4-3 over Kim who happens to be the world’s top defensive player. Wang battled hard and earned her spot in U.S. table tennis history and the emotion showed following the match.

“I thought it was possible to beat her as long as I was full of confidence, because she is a defensive player.” said Wang. She won in a close and dynamic performance 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5.

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Chinese Women Dominate in Singles Play

Lex — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:50:42 +0000

August 20, 2008
The Chinese women’s table tennis players continued to dominate in singles play on Wednesday. They beat their over-matched opponents in straight games easily on course for more medals. The defending gold medalist Zhang Yining beat Belarus’ Viktoria Pavlovich in a breezy 25 minutes.

Zhang spanked Pavlovich with wicked speed and ferocious attacks picking her opponent apart one point at a time. Playing this strong she is likely to advance to the final round with very little resistance along the way. Frankly, her 34th ranked opponent didn’t stand a chance against the best in the world at the top of her game.

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China handles Germany with ease for Team Gold

Lex — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:55:00 +0000

August 19, 2008
China’s Wang Liqin and Wang Hao, the Wang’s, handled Germany with ease for the team gold on Monday. Germany has never once beat China in 18 attempts and the stats keep rolling. China won in three straight 3-0 and remained the dominant team to beat in the world.

There was only but a few tight moments in the match and this came during the play between Ma Lin, world No. 2, and No. 6 Timo Boll. The competition was tough in this match and although the top European threat put up a good fight Lin held strong and took the match. Boll was the strongest threat they felt in this match and for good reason. Boll defeated all three of China’s players during the World Cup in 2005 making him a fan favorite among the home crowd as well.

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South Korea defeats Austria 3-1

Lex — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:15:16 +0000

August 18, 2008
South Korea took down Austria on Monday 3-1 to receive the honor of the bronze medal in the men’s team table tennis competition. In an interesting twist the beginning of the competition began in favor of Austria with Robert Gardos (world ranked No. 47) taking down the defending gold medalist Ryu Seung Min of Korea 3-1.

However, in the true spirit of the games Ryu found himself in position to make amends for his major disappointment earlier with a chance to win the competition for his team in the fourth match vs. Chen Weixing of Austria. He found his stride with strong top-spin loops and smashing forehands that earned Korea the bronze in three straight games.

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Germany pushes past Japan

Lex — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:33:43 +0000

August 16, 2008
Germany was able to push past Japan on Saturday with a 3-2 victory sealing a spot for them in the final. Germany looked strong but will have to play even stronger in the final where they will face either China or South Korea.

The first game was between one of Germany’s up and coming stars Dimitrij Ovtcharov vs. Kan Yo of Japan. Dimitrij squeaked past Kan leaving his experienced teammate with the momentum going into his match. The German veteran Timo Boll was able to silence Japan’s teenage wonder Jun Mizutani.

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U.S. Women’s Team Eliminated

Lex — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:29:24 +0000

August 16, 2008
The US women’s team faltered on Saturday getting themselves bumped out of medal contention in the Olympic table tennis tournament. They were shut out 3-0 by Korea in Beijing’s PKU Gymnasium and will only be spectators for the women’s finals on Sunday.

Although the women were defeated in the bronze medal playoff it was still the best finish in Olympic table tennis for the U.S. marking improvement in the program. Never had an American team advanced past the quarterfinals before this Chinese-born American team had their shot on Saturday. Chen Wang, Crystal Huang and Gao Jun proved that the future may be bright for U.S. women’s table tennis.

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U.S. defeats Nigeria 3-0

Lex — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:44:57 +0000

August 14, 2008
The U.S. women’s table tennis team defeated Nigeria 3-0 Thursday advancing them to the bronze medal bracket. The event is scheduled for Friday morning. Other results in U.S. women’s table tennis action on Thursday include Crystal Huang of San Gabriel, Jun Gao of Gaithersburg, Md., and Chen Wang of New York City who each shutout their opponents 3-0 in the best-of-five matches.

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Chinese Dominate Olympic Team Openings

Lex — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:57:20 +0000

August 13, 2008
The Chinese met expectations and dominated the openings of Olympic team table tennis matches Wednesday. The lift of the home crowd was more than enough to help them pull through when they were behind.

The women’s team smashed Croatia 3-0 in the best-of-five format containing four singles and a doubles. The Chinese allowed only one game in the morning session and stomped on the Dominican Republic later the same day 3-0.

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Beijing 2008 Table Tennis Results, August 13th

Lex — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:48:38 +0000

Women’s Team Group A: China vs. Croatia
Match 1: Yining Zhang of China dominated her opponent Tamara Boros of Croatia in three straight games.
Game 1: 11-4 Zhang
Game 2: 11-2 Zhang
Game 3: 11-6 Zhang

Match 2: Nan Wang got off to a poor start vs. her opponent Andrea Bakula of Croatia but finished strong with a victory in 4 games.
Game 1: 12-10 Bakula
Game 2: 11-5 Wang
Game 3: 11-4 Wang
Game 4: 11-9 Wang

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