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| Straight Wins at Table Tennis World Championships |
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World number one Wang Liqin led two young players, Wang Hao and Ma Long, in Tuesday's competitions. Wang and his Dutch opponent exchanged the lead in the first set which left Wang as the player laughing last: 11-8. The beginning of the second set was almost a repeat of the previous set with the two going head on head to tie at four points apiece. Wang then managed to launch a series of attacks to win the set 11-5. Wang's Dutch rival trailed from behind to tie the score at six each in the third set. But Wang would not let go of his advantage, making a few adjustments to his game plan to win the set 11-7, as well as the match: 3-0. Young players Wang Hao and Ma Long continued the winning tune with two more straight victories over their rivals. After China defeated Serbia 3-0 in the second round of group matches at the 48th World Team Table Tennis Championships, general coach of the Chinese women's team Shi Zhihao said that he was satisfied with all the three players -- veteran Wang Nan, novice Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia, but Wang needed to be more reactive and concentrated. Wang fought five hard games, as the day before against her Czech rival, to beat the Serbian counterpart 3-2. Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia, who has taken part in big international games for the first time, overpowered their rivals with a same 3-0. Shi commented that the performance of Wang Nan was not out of expectation, adding that facing difficulties and overcoming them in group stage was good for her to adjust to forthcoming major competitions. Asked if he would give Wang more chances to play in following group matches to help her into best form, Shi said that each of the five players would have chances, and Wang Nan would continue to practise. Shi praised Li Xiaoxia, saying, "You can not tell this is just her first international appearance." "She did not lose control in front of difficulties," Shi noted. He was confident that each of his five paddlers could be fit for the matches because there was not any big differences between them in terms of techniques. Zhang Yining and Wang Nan had more experiences and international appearances, Li, Guo Yue as well as Guo Yan, who played against the Czech Republic Monday, needed more international experiences, he said. But the three young players did quite well, Shi said, adding that their performance was in line with previous expectations. (Xinhua News Agency and CRI English April 26, 2006) |
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