PARIS, 25 May 2003 — China’s No. 2 seed Wang Nan, who was contemplating retirement because her form had dipped so low, won her third consecutive women’s singles title at the Table Tennis World Championships here yesterday.
Wang Nan, successful at Osaka in 2001 and Eindhoven in 1999, beat her close friend and doubles partner Zhang Yining 4-3 (11-7, 11-8, 11-4, 5-11, 6-11, 8-11, 11-5).
“I’m very emotional as I was thinking about giving up table tennis altogether I was playing so poorly,” said Wang Nan, who mixes ping pong with a fledgling political career for China’s Communist party. “But my new coach inspired me and helped me get over my difficulties. Without that I probably wouldn’t be here. Now I’m looking ahead to the Olympics in Athens,” added the girl from Liaoning province.
Although displaced at the top of the rankings by Zhang Yining, who hadn’t dropped a set here all week, at the start of the year Wang Nan’s ability to come good on the big occasions proved crucial.
“I know Zhang Yining’s game so well I know where the ball’s going to go before she hits it! She’s technically very strong but because she’s still young she’s not so strong mentally,” added the first straight triple champion since six time winner Angelica Rozeanu of Romania in the 1950s.
The 24-year-old had paved the way for victory by overcoming Croatia’s Tamara Boros in the morning’s semifinal. Wang Nan could be clutching three golds tonight, as she has already walked off with the mixed doubles and plays in the women’s doubles final with Zhang Yining.
She admitted she was surprised to find herself leading 3-0. “I was prepared for a big fight, and didn’t expect that at all,” she revealed at a post match press conference. “I know Zhang’s weaknesses and knew that she wanted to win so much she’d start playing cautiously.
“Then I became conservative and she got back into the game. In the last set I became stronger mentally, less cautious and more aggressive.”
It was raining gold for China today, with Wang Nan lifting the women’s singles and the Wang Liqin-Yen Sen combination taking the men’s doubles.
But the sport’s superpower, which Friday also won the mixed doubles, has only one representative left in the hunt for the men’s singles, with Olympic champion Kong Linhui in a semifinal match-up against Austria’s Werner Schlager today.
Schlager prevailed over reigning men’s champion Waqin Laqin in an epic seven setter. The second semi pits Greece’s Kalinikos Kreanga against Korea’s Joo Se-Hyuk, who shrugged off his underdog status to beat Chen Weixing, a Chinese export to Austria.
Kreanga said: “Let’s hope there’s at least one European in the final, I don’t care whether it’s me or Werner!”
In the men’s singles quarterfinals Wang Liqin was heading for victory, leading 3-1 when Schlager’s version of the great escape began. With the crowd right behind him the Austrian pulled back to 3-2, adding the fifth set too, saving four match points along the way.
After all his hard work he wasn’t about to let his prey go and he duly took the sixth set for a memorable 5-11, 11-5, 8-11, 13-15, 11-9, 13-11, 11-5 success.
China’s Qiu Yike, who made his mark this week when beating German top seed Timo Boll, finally met his match in the guise of Kong Linghui who won 11-1, 11-9, 4-11, 11-1, 11-8.
Kreanga, whose attacking play proved too much for Chen, holds the advantage over his last four opponent Joo, the surprise 13-11, 10-12, 8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9 winner over second seed Ma Lin, on recent form.
The Korean defensive star said: “He’s beaten me 3-0 so I’m going to have to change something before tomorrow!
Not even in my dreams did I think I’d be playing in the world championship semifinals.”
Defending men’s doubles champions Wang Liqin and Yen Sen meanwhile followed up their 2001 Osaka win with a 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5 success over compatriots Wang Hao and Kong Linghui.
Meanwhile, the two table tennis players from Yemen and Saudi Arabia who refused to take on an Israeli at the world championships have been banned for the rest of the year.
Hani Al-Hammadi from Yemen and Nabeel Al-Magahwi were suspended after their boycott was the subject of an official protest to the sport’s ruling body, the ITTF, by the Israeli delegation.
Gay Elensky, 19, was due to play a men’s singles qualifier on Monday against Al-Hammadi but was handed the match when the Yemeni failed to turn up. On Tuesday, Elensky was down to meet Al-Magahwi but again he was handed victory without having to raise his bat in anger.
