Untouchable China grabs Women's Table Tennis Team gold
Updated: 2008-08-17 21:41:22
(BEIJING, August 17) -- The first gold medal ever for the Table Tennis Team event went to China at the Peking University Gymnasium, Sunday, August 17. The silver medal went to Singapore who staged a hard fight against the determined host.
Olympic veteran Wang Nan of China played the first match against Singapore's Feng Tianwei winning 3-1. World No. 1 Zhang Yining (CHN) faced a determined Li Jiawei (SIN) in the second match. After losing the first game to Li, Zhang found her pace and ultimately overtook the Singaporean 3-1. In the doubles match, China's Zhang Yining joined forces with teammate Guo Yue and claimed a 3-0 victory.
The win had not come as easy as hoped. With Chinese President Hu Jintao and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge among the cheering crowd, the pressure for the Chinese team to win was tremendous.
http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/tabletennis/n214556563.shtml
Table Tennis Day 5 Review: China dominates PKU Gymnasium
Updated: 2008-08-17 22:41:20
(BEIJIJNG, August 17) -- The gold medal contest in the Women’s Team competition was held in the evening session, Sunday, at PKU Gymnasium. China dominated the contest, and as expected, they clinched the gold, the first Table Tennis Team gold awarded in the history of the Olympic Games. The silver went to Singapore. Earlier in the afternoon, the ROK and Austria won their respective bronze medal play-offs, and will compete for the bronze on Monday
China’s win was excepted, not only because of its formidable lineup of World No.1 Zhang Yining, Grand Slam winner Wang Nan and World No.2 Guo Yue, but also because of the team’s near-perfect performance from the group round robin and the semifinal right through to the final. Singapore put up a good fight, but, China was just too powerful to beat.
Fourth seed Republic of Korea won the Bronze medal over fifth seed Japan. The classic defensive skills of Kim Kyung-ah gave Korea the start they needed. Dang Ye Seo followed overcoming Fukuhara Ai in a duel that was fought at a fast and furious pace. The momentum and odds were with Korea. Kim partnered Park Mi-young in the Doubles against Hirano and Fukuoka Haruna. The Japanese fought to the very end but the Koreans were too stable in defence and too quick in attack. They won in three straight games.
The high-level performances by each of the four teams in the Men’s bronze medal play-offs made for an exciting competition. ROK and Austria’s win comes despite losses incurred by their leading players, Ryu Seung-min (ROK) and Schlager Werner (AUT).
(L-R)Guo Yue, Wang Nan and Zhang Yining of China (Photo credit: Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images)
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