Guo Yan, the determined table tennis player from China

Guo Yan from China is now placed third in the World ITTF Women’s Table Tennis rankings. She had been within the top 8 places from October 2003 and she had been holding the third place from the beginning of this year. Earlier, she was ranked third in the first 6 months of 2006. She slipped to fourth in July 2006 but immediately claimed the third place in August 2006. In October 2006, she improved her position to number two but was pushed back to the third rank in January 2007. She also held the third spot in November and December 2003. Recently, at the Women’s Table Tennis World Cup in Urumqi, China in October 2006, Guo Yan upset world number 1 Zhang Yining to win her first World Cup title. In 2005, at the World Cup and at the World Championships in 2005, she had lost to Zhang Yining in the finals. For Guo Yan, the 7-game thriller was a memorable time. Zhang started off in her usual style and won the first game 15-13. Guo took the second 12-10. Zhang used her extraordinary skills to win the third and fourth game 11-9 and 11-7. However, Guo showed her resolution and determination to take the fifth and sixth games 11-7 and 11-8. In the crucial decider, Zhang made a few errors and Guo promptly capitalized on them to win the game 11-6 and claim her first World Cup title.

One of the first victories in the career of Guo Yan was when she won the 2001 Pro Tour Women’s Singles event held in Zagreb, Croatia. In the same year, she won that event again when it was held in Skovde, Sweden. Again she triumphed in the ITTF Pro Tour in 2003 in Jeju-Si, Korea. Guo Yan had been in the finals and semifinals of several ITTF Pro Tour events and ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals over the years.

At the Volkswagen Korea Open in September 2003, Guo Yan was facing the young Australian Liu Jia in the finals. Liu Jia had beaten several top women players on her way to the final. However, Guo Yan proved too much for her and Guo won the finals in straight 4 games to nil match. Another important match in the career of Guo Yan was in the semifinals of the Women’s Singles World Championships in Shanghai in May 2005. Guo Yan was up against Guo Yue, winner of the Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals in December 2004 in Beijing.

Guo Yue won the first game 12-10, attacking the backhand of Guo Yan and forcing her to remain deeper. However, Guo Yan got her forehand topspin going and took an early lead of 8-2 in the second game and won it 11-3. She again took the third game 11-6 with some clever placements. A motivated Guo Yan started playing with more deliberation, taking her time and won the fourth game 11-7. In the fifth game, Guo Yue took an early lead of 4-1 and stretched it to 8-3. But a resolute Guo Yan recovered and leveled at 8-all. Under pressure, Guo Yue made mistakes and Guo Yan won the game 11-9. Guo Yan was delighted to reach the Women’s Singles final at a World Championships event for the first time in her life. However, she lost to world number one Zhang Yining in the finals but had her revenge in the 2006 World Cup when she defeated Zhang in the finals.