Monday, March 31, 2008
10:21 PM
ASIAN Cup - 1 Silver, 2 Bronzes
Sending a small contigent of only 4 members, our paddlers returned with glory. Feng Tian faltered against World No. 3, China's Guo Yue, settling for Silver, whilst Li Jia Wei settled for Bronze as she took revenge by beating Korea's Seo Hyo Won who defeated her in the group stages. Li won by 4-0.

Gao Ning took home Bronze as well. He lost to China's Ma Long in the Semi-Finals but won Japan's teenage Mizutani Jun in straight games in the 3rd, 4th placing match. Yang Zi lost to Yoshida Kaii in the playoff and settled in the 8th position.

With such fantastic results recently, especially from our female team, our paddlers are expected to deliver at least a medal at the Olympics.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
10:37 PM
ASIAN Cup - FENG BEAT OLYMPIC CHAMPION & WORLD NUMBER 1!
Feng Tian Wei has caused the most major upset so far by ousting out World No.1, China's Zhang Yining! To date, none of the Singaporean has defeated her, and Feng is the first. Feng won with a convincing win. She beat Zhang 4-2. There also success for her teammates. Li Jia Wei, despite facing strong challenge from Hong Kong's Tie Yana, she stayed clam and beat her 4-3. Gao Ning did well as well. He defeated Japan's Yoshida Kaii with a score of 4-2. Yang Zi is the only victim. He put up a tough fight but still he lost to Japan's Mizutani Jun, 4-1.

In tomorrow's match, Feng will take on Korea's Seo Hyo Won while Li faces World Champion, China's Guo Yue. Gao Ning will take on China's Ma Long in the Semi-Finals, whilst Yang Zi will meet host country's Kan Yo in the placing match.
3:21 PM
ASIAN Cup - Success for Men's Counterpart in Group Stages
The group stages has finally come to an end. Our male paddlers did well and both emerged top in their groups. Gao Ning beat India's Achanta Sharat K by a small margin of 3-2, before overcoming Japan's Kan Yo 3-1. Yang Zi defeated Korea's Jung Young Sik in straight games, after which, he fought hard and crashed higher ranked Chinese Taipei's Chuan Chih-Yuan, 3-1. Hong Kong's Jiang Tian Yi was not his match either. He overcame him by a small margin of 3-2, and successfully emerged top.

Li Jia Wei and Feng Tian Wei did well too. Seeded 3, Li swept Chinese Taipei's Pan Li-Chun 3-0, before defeating host nation's Hirano Sayaka. However, Jia Wei has always been week against defenders. In her last group stage match, she met Korea's young and promsing defender, Seo Hyo Won. Li faltered 3-1. In group B, where Feng Tian Wei is drawn, things were similar. Feng beat Hong Kong's Yu Kwok See, and Japan's Ishikawa Kasumi, 3-1 and 3-0 in her opening and closing match. However, in the 2nd match, she lost to World Champion, China's Guo Yue. She lost by the faintest margin, 3-2.

In the Quarter Finals, Feng will meet Top Seeded Zhang Yining from China, whilst Li will take on World Top 10, Hong Kong's Tie Yana. Gao Ning will face Yoshida Kaii while Yang Zi meet Mizutani Jun, both from Japan.
Friday, March 28, 2008
9:04 PM
ASIAN Cup 2008 - Draws
Luck was on our paddlers side as most of them received fantastic draws. Both Gao Ning and Yang Zi managed to stay away from China. Seeded 3rd, Gao Ning is being drawn to Group C, the group also consist of host nation's Kan Yo and India's Achanta Sharat K. Yang Zi was drawn to group D, together with Chinese Taipei Chuan Chih-Yuan, Hong Kong's Jiang Tian Yi and Korea's Jung Young Sik.

World Ranked no.7, Li Jia Wei is also the 3rd seeded. She is drawn to group C together with Japan's Hirano Sayaka, Pan Li-Chun from Chinese Taipei and Seo Hyo Won from Korea. However, luck was not on Feng Tian Wei's side. She she drawn to group B, and will already face China's Guo Yue in the Group Stages. Also in her group are Hong Kong's Yu Kwok See and host country's Ishikawa Kasumi.

Competition will start tomorow. Stay Tuned for more Updates!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
7:25 PM
Lian He Zao Bao Cup is BACK!
The annual Lian He Zao Bao Table Tennis Cup is back. This year, the competition will be held from the 17th to 25th of May. Registration starts now!

Click English/Chinese to download the forms.

Registration forms can also be obtained from STTA, Singapore Press Holdings and Velocity Shopping Centre.

Registration ends on the 25th of April. So Hurry and Grab your forms today!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
4:16 PM
新加坡仅的一银一铜
新加坡队提前结束了在卡塔尔的公开赛。于梦雨和马良顺利的在２１岁以下组别取得一银一铜。
我女队种子选手李佳薇，王月古，孙蓓蓓纷纷不敌其他非种子选手，在首二轮惨遭淘汰。而另两名非种子球员，于梦雨和冯天薇，分别在第一和第二轮比赛中惨遭中国王楠的毒手。

男队方面，非种子选手蔡晓黎，马良和刘忠泽，在首轮就遭强敌中国与中国香港的毒手。杨子则在第二轮不敌希腊选手格林卡，而息败。高宁则在八强赛遇到世界第一，王浩，而败下阵来。

我队将在一星期内，前往日本，参加亚洲杯。
2:07 AM
ITTF Pro Tour Qatar Open - Gao Ning faltered against Wang Hao, Singapore attain 1 Silver 1 Bronze
In the first 2 matches against Wang Hao, Gao Ning put up a great performance and force some errors from the World No.1. However, Gao Ning still lost 11-9 in both games. In the 3rd and 4th game, it was obvious that Gao Ning was tired and made many errors. He was unable to cope with the fast and furious attacks of Wang Hao. He lost 11-6 and 11-5.

Our only 2 medals came from the U21 Events, with Yu Meng Yu attaining a Silver and Ma Liang attaining a Bronze.

Our paddlers will be returning to SIngapore, before proceeding to Japan for the ASIAN Cup.
Friday, March 21, 2008
9:12 PM
ITTF Pro Tour Qatar Open - Gao Ning, the only Survivor
As of 21st March 2008, 10.12pm (Singapore Time), Gao Ning is the sole survivor of the Qatar Open. Cai Xiao Li, Liu Zhong Ze and Ma Liang suffered in the opening round of play. Cai lost to Hong Kong's KO Lai Chak, Liu Zhong Ze faltered 4-0 in Chen Qi's hand, while Ma Liang lost to Hong Kong's Li Ching, also in straight games. Yang Zi suffered in round 2, losing to Greece Kreanga Kalinikos by the slightest margin, 4-3. Doubles Pair, Gao Ning and Yang Zi was also defeated by China's Ma Long and Zhang Jike in the 2nd round. They put up a tough fight before losing 4-3. Gao Ning is the only paddler left, overcoming Jevtovic Marko, France's Chila Patrick and Chinese Taipei Chuan Chih-Yuan along the way. He will meet Top Seeded, China's Wang Hao in the Top 8.

None of our female paddlers were able to cross the round of 16 hurdle. Wang Yue Gu and Sun Bei Bei were defeated by ITTF Pro Tour newcomer, Korea's Seok Ha Jung. Seok do not have any World Ranking currently. Wang was defeated in the opening round, whilst Sun lost in the round of 16. Another Korea player, Kwak Bang Bang caused another upset by beating Singapore's Best Female Paddler Li Jia Wei. Yu Meng Yu and Feng Tian Wei both suffered in the hands of 2000 Sydney Olympic Gold Medalist, China's Wang Nan. The former losing in the 1st round, the latter losing in the 2nd round. Li and Sun also lost to a brand new pair, Liu Jia(AUT) and Vacenovaska Iveta(CZE), in the Women's Doubles.

Liu Zhong Ze, having won the Gold in the U21 event 1 week earlier, lost to Germany's Baum Patrick in the Quarter Finals, whilst Ma Liang lost to Top Seeded, Korea's Lee Jin Kwon in the Semi-Finals. Yu Meng Yu attain 2nd position, losing to Roumain Dodean Daniel in the Finals. She lost 4-1 (12-10,11-7,11-9,6-11,11-3).
6:57 AM
女单正赛首轮冷门迭起 新加坡队仅存两将

在20日卡塔尔公开赛的女单首轮激战中，韩国和新加坡可谓喜忧参半；两支队伍各有损失和收获。其中文炫晶、郭芳芳、唐汭序、石夏廷以及朴美英这五名韩国女将皆顺利闯过首道关卡：文炫晶4：1战胜了德国头号主力吴佳多；唐汭序以同样的局分击败了奥地利领军人物刘佳。郭芳芳与石夏廷则双双爆冷，分别淘汰了李佳薇和王越古。而老将金璟娥和李恩姬就没有那么幸运了，前者以3：4惜败给克罗地亚的鲍罗斯，后者五局不敌中国香港的姜华珺。新加坡阵营在首轮过后则仅存孙蓓蓓与冯天薇两名选手。李佳薇、王越古以及小将于梦雨纷纷落马，早早退出了女单赛场。
记者在这几场比赛过后第一时间采访了将李佳薇淘汰出局的郭芳芳，这位右手直板打法的前中国选手笑着告诉记者："我之前没跟李佳薇打过，今天我的发球不错，主要是旋转把握得很好，尽量发短球。"

郭芳芳是单面生胶打法，高抛发球很有威胁，这场比赛里，她刁钻的发球给李佳薇制造了不少麻烦。"她（李佳薇）在接发球上失误很多，"郭芳芳接着说到，"今天我打得比较放松，反手推挡也运用得不错。第四局和第五局很关键，我在这两局里都是反败为胜，都是在对方拿到局点后追回来的，一个从6-10，一个从8-10。"

首轮得胜的新加坡选手只有孙蓓蓓和冯天薇两人，前者以4：1击败了中华台北的潘俐君，后者则以同样的比分淘汰了九号种子帖雅娜。对冯天薇来说，战胜帖雅娜并不算是太大的意外，因为在去年11月的法国公开赛上，她就曾击败过这位中国香港的对手。

"我的技战术运用得很好，而且上一次对她的胜利给了我很大信心，今天比赛中思路也非常清晰，"冯天薇赛后说到，"帖雅娜的球很稳，很容易给人压力。"

同样在本轮比赛中承受到不小压力的还有中国老将王楠。她遭到新加坡选手于梦雨的强劲冲击：前五局王楠以2：3暂时落后，第六局里她一度处于7-9的不利局面。但随后经验老道的王楠连追四分，拿下第六局，并以11-5毫无悬念地拿下决胜局。

除了三号种子王楠，赛会前四号种子里，张怡宁、郭跃以及李晓霞都较为轻松地战胜了各自对手，顺利闯进第二轮。

（来源：http://www.ittf.com.cn/ 作者：Ian Marshall）
Thursday, March 20, 2008
4:34 AM
ITTF Pro Tour Qatar Open - Draws
Following the conclusion of group stages yesterday, most our paddlers qualified for the Main Draw. The only causualty being Tan Paey Fern.

For our Men's Team, 2 seeded players, Gao Ning and Yang Zi were drawn to the top half of the table, whilst Cai Xiao Li, Liu Zhong Ze and Ma Liang were drawn to the bottom half. Yang Zi is likely to meet World No. 1, China's Wang Hao in the round of 16, while Gao Ning will encounter the same player in the Top 8. As for the qualified players, they will already face great challenge from their opponents in round 1. Liu Zhong Ze will take on Kuwait Open Men's Singles and Doubles Silver Medalist, China's Chen Qi. Cai will face Hong Kong's Ko Lai Chak, while Ma Liang will encounter Li Ching, also from Hong Kong.

Our female paddlers were all drawn to the top half of the table. 6 Seeded, Wang Yue Gu is likely to take on collegue Sun Bei Bei in the Round of 16, whilst Li Jia Wei will meet Top Seeded, China's Zhang Yining in the Top 8. As for the other 2 qualified players, Yu Meng Yu and Feng Tian Wei, luck was more on Feng's side. The former will take on the vastly experienced Wang Nan from China in the 1st round, while the latter will take on the currently off-form Hong Kong's Tie Yana.
Monday, March 17, 2008
10:44 AM
井浚泓 把新加坡女乒 放到世界舞台上

　　我国前乒乓女将井浚泓曾参加三届奥运会。
　　2000年，她以近32岁“高龄”闯进半决赛，但最后还是与奥运会奖牌失之交臂。虽然如此，这位狮城媳妇在推动我国女乒的发展方面，功不可没。
她在接受本报专访时说，北京奥运会，我国女乒拿下奖牌，不再是“看得到、拿不到”的梦。

　　与其他归化运动员不同，上海姑娘井浚泓在1991年底移居新加坡时，根本没想过要延续球员生涯，更别说有朝一日参加奥运会。
　　井浚泓虽然打上了中国国家队，而且还坐上队里第三把交椅，但队里人才辈出，竞争激烈，加上面对新加坡前国手黎仕汉的猛烈追求，她毅然放弃事业，选择了爱情。
　　对当时只有23岁的她来说，离开中国，就等于球员生涯的结束；她来到陌生的新加坡，只为追随男友，展开人生另一段旅程。

　　1992年，井浚泓与黎仕汉踏上红地毯的另一端，六年后生下儿子明轩。不过，在她组织家庭的同时，也开始了乒乓生涯的第二春。

　　外号“狮城媳妇”的井浚泓（39岁）回忆说：“我1991年底来新加坡，根本就不想打球了，开始时担任国家男队的陪练员，也帮忙教球。

　　“不过，当时本地的乒乓球水平非常低，男队甚至没人能打败我，新加坡乒乓球总会就想让我复出，代表新加坡参加国际赛。”
　　然而，井浚泓来到新加坡后，因为缺乏对手和先进设施，无法维持原来水平，乒总只好开始争取让她参加国际赛，尽早恢复昔日水准。
为本地乒乓球热加温
　　她说：“我还记得参加的第一项比赛是1993年4月的越南公开赛，那是越南开放后的第一项比赛，场地非常破旧，但反应十分热烈，当地人不但挤爆赛场，而且还争先恐后地站在场外看球。”
　　井浚泓在她生平代表新加坡的第一项比赛中，赢得了女单冠军。不过，这只是一个开始，相信她当时怎么也想不到，新加坡乒乓球日后的许许多多个“第一”都将出自她的手。

　　一个月后，井浚泓带着“志在参与”的心情，前往瑞典参加世界锦标赛。或许是毫无压力的关系，她竟在女单次圈赛中，淘汰当时集世界冠军和奥运冠军于一身的中国“乒坛一姐”邓亚萍，一鸣惊人。

　　尽管最后在第四圈败给了罗马尼亚名将巴蒂斯库，井浚泓却成功地把新加坡推上了国际乒坛重要的地位，她也因此正式成了“海外兵团”的一分子。

　　她说：“我当时已经很久没有受过正规训练，加上之前受伤，体力明显退步了许多，打到后面其实已经没力了，非常可惜。”

　　1996年，井浚泓背负着海外兵团的名号，到美国参加亚特兰大奥运会，虽然她在第二圈便被世界亚军中国名将乔红淘汰出局，但新加坡的乒乓球温度却从这时开始上升。

　　井浚泓说：“从奥运会回来后，我开始感觉新加坡越来越注重乒乓球，大家也越来越支持这项运动。”
　　
和奥运奖牌擦身而过

　　此后，井浚泓带领新加坡在1997年共和联邦锦标赛上，取得在这项比赛的“金牌零突破”，并在1999年助我国取得当时的东运会历来最佳战绩（6金1银3铜）。

　　不过，2000年悉尼奥运会才是井浚泓乒乓球生涯的最高点。

　　她说：“我在悉尼奥运会之前一年，因为刚生了孩子，很少参加国际赛，原本自动获得参赛权，可是原来是当局搞错了，所以我还是到香港参加了外围赛，幸好最后还是获得参赛资格。”
　　八年前的这段回忆，不单是井浚泓，许多国人应该也都记忆犹新，因为那是新加坡40年来最接近奥运奖牌的一次。

　　井浚泓当时在女单第二圈以直落三局淘汰中国好手孙晋，爆出大冷门，接着还险胜曾代表中国赢得世界冠军的加拿大代表耿丽娟，最后战胜罗马尼亚选手斯特夫，闯进半决赛。

　　谈到半决赛，井浚泓先是一声叹息，然后说：“我那时都已经快32岁了，打完复赛其实都已经累死了！加上半决赛对手是当时状态非常好的中国球员李菊，我尽力了，可是还是输了，结果在名次赛也输给了台湾的陈静。”

　　陈静曾代表中国赢得1988年首尔奥运会女单金牌，1996年改披台湾战衣，夺得女单银牌。

　　输掉铜牌后，井浚泓的脑海里闪过了很多“如果”和“假设”。

　　她说：“陈静当时的状态不错，而且技术水平也在我之上，所以输给她不奇怪，只是心里难免觉得可惜，当时脑海里一直闪过‘如果当时怎样怎样’，还有‘假设怎样怎样’。”
将头号主力交棒给李佳薇

　　那一年，井浚泓的奥运会神奇之旅，让她成了本地风云人物。各大媒体疯狂报道她在奥运会的表现，许多国人也都为她的落败，感到惋惜。

　　不过，她为新加坡作出的贡献，不止于此；这时的她已渐渐把头号主力的棒子，交给了在国际舞台上崛起的队友李佳薇。

　　两年后，乒乓球首次被列入共运会，井浚泓藏起一度萌生的退役念头，随同女队出征曼彻斯特共运会，并取得两枚金牌和一枚铜牌的骄人战绩。

　　她也与李佳薇在日本公开赛上，摘下女双桂冠，为新加坡赢得在国际乒总职业巡回赛的首个冠军。

　　2004年雅典奥运会，井浚泓带着未完成的梦想，再度踏上奥运征途，可惜命运又一次与她开了玩笑。她与李佳薇的女双组合原本被寄予夺牌的厚望，没想到却提早出局。
　　井浚泓完成比赛后，正式高挂球拍，为绚丽的球员生涯，划上休止符。

　　参加过三届奥运会，2000年悉尼奥运会让井浚泓留下最深刻的印象。

　　这一届除了象征她事业的最高点，同时也是“海外兵团”最让中国闻风丧胆的鼎盛时期。

　　井浚泓说：“当时的海外兵团应该算是第一批，而且可以说是处于鼎盛时期，当中有许多人都曾代表中国取得世界级荣耀。大家碰巧都来到了2000年奥运，使得这次竞争非常激烈。”

　　所谓“海外兵团”，是当时人们为移居海外的前中国球员所取的称号，而在这一届奥运会上，尤以女子项目的海外兵团实力较坚强。

　　井浚泓介绍：“那时可热闹了，日本的何智丽、卢森堡的倪夏莲、纽西兰的李春丽和加拿大的耿丽娟属于年纪大一些的，年纪小一些的有美国的高军，台湾的陈静、童飞鸣、徐竞，德国三个削球手施婕、何千红和田静。”

　　除了少数没打上中国国家队，当时的海外兵团不乏世界冠军和奥运冠军。

　　倪夏莲曾夺得1983年世乒赛女团和混双冠军，耿丽娟是1985年女双世界冠军和1987年混双世界冠军，何智丽曾在1987年世乒赛赢得女单冠军，陈静是1988年奥运女单金牌得主，高军曾获得1991年世乒赛女双冠军。

　　井浚泓表示，尽管在场上拼得面红耳赤，大家在私底下的关系都很好。

　　她笑说：“最后一场比赛结束后，我们八九个人都不约而同地在奥运村的餐厅里，坐在一起吃饭，感觉很特别，因为大家都穿着不同国家的运动服。

　　“或许心里也知道，下一次像这样坐在一起，也不知道会是什么时候，所以大家都聊得很尽兴，不是谈论比赛时一些情节，就是回忆小时候的糗事。虽然大家大部分时候的心情都很平静，但讲到比赛时，偶尔还会有些激动，但话题始终围绕着乒乓球。”

　　四年后，井浚泓准时报到雅典奥运会，但海外兵团应犹在，只是朱颜改。
井浚泓看女乒：

夺奥运奖牌十拿九稳
　　井浚泓认为，2008年北京奥运会是新加坡把乒乓球奖牌拿到手的最佳时机。
　　井浚泓解释：“从最近在世界锦标赛的表现来看，我国女乒夺取奥运奖牌是十拿九稳。”

　　由李佳薇、王越古、冯天薇、孙蓓蓓和于梦雨组成的新加坡女乒，一个月前在中国广州举行的世乒赛上，勇夺女团亚军，写下历来最佳成绩。

　　本届奥运会设四个项目——男团、女团、男单和女单。我国两名男球员高宁和杨子已直接入选男单项目，李佳薇、王越古和冯天薇也都获得女单参赛资格。

　　井浚泓分析：“除了实力强大的中国以外，女乒整体实力很平均，其他球队不太构成威胁。当然，女乒也因此将承受更多压力，面对更多困难，但只要把这些处理好，夺取女团奖牌的机会还是很高的。”

　　她也认为，比较可能打击女乒夺取奖牌机会的，应该是香港、韩国、日本和朝鲜等亚洲球队，而欧洲球队近年来水平明显下滑，应该难有作为。

　　我国女将李佳薇在四年前的雅典奥运会上，先在女单半决赛中败给朝鲜女将金香美，然后在名次赛中，不敌韩国削球手金璟娥，痛失铜牌。
　　对此，井浚泓开玩笑地说：“一定是我当年打败了金香美，她一直记在心里，雅典碰到佳薇就打得比较狠！”

　　原来金香美曾参加1996年亚特兰大奥运会，但她在小组赛中败给井浚泓，最后惨遭淘汰。

　　井浚泓相信，我国女乒在经过多项大赛的洗礼后，已具备与世界列强分庭抗礼的实力，要夺取自1960年以来的首枚奥运奖牌，或许将不再只是“看得到、拿不到”的梦。


（来源：联合早报 吴秀金）
Sunday, March 16, 2008
11:50 PM
ITTF Pro Tour Kuwait Open - Li and Sun won Silver!

Singapore top female doubles pair, Li Jia Wei and Sun Bei Bei beat the pair made up of 2 different countries, Russia's GANINA Svetlana and Belarus' PAVLOVICH Viktoria, to reach the finals in the Women's Doubles Event. Despite having to fight with China for the crown, our female paddlers did give up. They fought well and hard, but faltered 4-2 to Olympic Champions, Wang Nan and Zhang Yining.

Before that, Liu Zhong Ze has cliched the title of U21 Boys' Singles, defeating Feng Xiaoquan in the Semi-Finals and JANCARIK Lubomir in the Finals. Liu won with ease. He defeated him in 5 games, (6-11,5-11,4-11,11-8,10-12).

Our paddlers will be heading to Qatar for the next Pro Tour.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
10:05 PM
ITTF Pro Tour Kuwait Open - Most Concluded their play
It was an unfortunate day for our paddlers. Most of them were unable to overcome their opponents. The only 2 exceptions being the pair made up of vastly experience Li Jia Wei and Sun Bei Bei and Liu Zhong Ze.

Gao Ning and Yang Zi lost in their opening match in the Men's Doubles Event. They Koreans made up of LEE Jin Kwon and LEE Jung Sam beat them by a small margin of 4-3. Guo Yi Teng and Liu Zhong Ze managed to survive the first round, but in the 2nd round, they met China's Chen Qi and Zhang Jike. They faltered 4-0.

The female paddlers did better, with Li and Sun surviving from Korea and Roumian. The defeated the former in straight games, and the latter with 4-3. Yu Meng Yu and Feng Tian Wei lost in the 1st round to Olympic Gold Medalist, China's Wang Nan and Zhang Yining.
1:03 AM
ITTF Pro Tour Kuwait Open - Female Paddlers occupy 5 out of 16 places!
It was an amazing day for our female paddlers. Especially for Yu Meng Yu and Feng Tian Wei. They both caused a major upset in the Main Draw, to join their collegues Li Jia Wei, Wang Yue Gu and Sun Bei Bei in the round of 16.

The ever consistent Yu Meng Yu defeated World No. 10, Hong Kong's Tie Yana, 4-1. While Feng Tian Wei overcame Hong Kong's No. 1 paddler, Jiang Hua Jun in straight games.

With such fantastic results, our female paddlers occupy 5 out of the 16 places available. China occupy the other 6 places.

In tomorrow's match, Meng Yu and Tian Wei will face one another for a place in the quarter finals. Wang Yue Gu will take on Germany's Top Paddler, Wu Jia Duo. Sun Bei Bei will face World No.2, China's Li Xiao Xia, whilst Li Jia Wei will take on the teenager, also from China, Liu Shi Wen.

However, our male paddlers did not do so well. Gao Ning, Yang Zi and Liu Zhong Ze were the only survivors from the first round. In the 2nd round, none of them were able to proceed to the round of 16. Gao Ning lost to China's Zhang Jike. Meanwhile, Yang Zi lost to World No. 4, Ma Long, another player from China.

Failure in the Senior Competition, Guo Yi Teng enjoyed success in the U21 qualifying group stages. He emerged 1st in his group and will take on 2nd Seeded, Skachkov Kirill in his first match.

Ma Liang and Liu Zhong Ze is the 3rd and 4th Seeded respectively. Yu Meng Yu is the 2nd Seeded in the U21 Girls' Singles Event.

Doubles Events and U21 Events will be conducted later in the day.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
11:59 AM
ITTF Pro Tour Kuwait Open - Paddlers Succeeds in Group Stages

In the first day of competition, most of our paddlers did well to qualify for tomorrrow's Main Draw. Cai Xiao Li, Ma Liang and Liu Zhong Ze all beat their opponents with ease and emrge top in their respective groups. The only regret is Guo Yi Teng, who lost to Austria's Habesohn Daniel. He lost 11-5, 15-13, 6-11, 11-8, 12-10. However Guo will still have a chance in tomorrow's Main Draw if he is able to beat Al-Abbad Abdulaziz in the Men's Singles Qualifying Round, which is about to begin now.

The female counterpart did as well. Both Yu Meng Yu and Feng Tian Wei top their groups with 2 wins each. On the other hand, Tan Paey Fern was not on form. She overcame host nation's Al-Shamari Manwa Majed in her first match but lost to another defender, Pavlovich Veronika, in her 2nd match. She faltered 4-0, (11-3, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9).

The Qualification for Men's and Women's Doubles will be played after the Men's Singles Qualifucation Round, where Wang Yue Gu and Tan Paey Fern, Guo Yi Teng and Liu ZHong Ze, Yu Meng Yu and Feng Tian Wei, Cai Xiao Li and Ma Liang will compete for a place in the Main Draw. Stay Tune for more Updates!
7:15 AM
ITTF Pro Tour Kuwait Open - Unlucky Draws...
The draws for the 2nd Pro Tour of the year was conducted yesterday, 12 March 2007. Most of our paddlers suffered an unlucky lot.

Gao Ning is likely to meet Hong Kong's Jiang Tian Yi and China's Ma Long in the round of 32 and the quarter finals respectively. Yang Zi suffered a worse lot. He will be most likely meeting China Ma Long in the round of 32. Cai Xiao Li, Ma Liang, Guo Yi Teng and Liu Zhong Ze will have to play the Group Stages, before qualifying in the Main Draw.

Lousy draw in the Men's Singles, our female paddlers suffered the same fate. In the round of 16, Sun Bei Bei will be facing World No.2, China's Li Xiao Xia. Li Jia Wei's fate was not any better either. She will take on China's young and promising paddler Liu Shi Wen. Liu beat campatriot Guo Yue in last year's German Open, where Guo is the Top Seeded. Also, Liu beat last year's Pro Tour Grand Finals Champion Li Xiao Xia in a China internal competition to obtain champion. Wang Yue Gu had a much better draw. She will face German's Wu Jia Duo in the round of 16. But she will face World Champion, China's Guo Yue in the Quarter Finals. Yu Meng Yu and Feng Tian Wei will be playing in the group stages.

Gao Ning and Yang Zi will face challenge from either 2004 Olympics Silver Medalist, Hong Kong's Li Ching and Cheung Yuk, or China's Olympics Gold Medalist Chen Qi, who will be pairing with Zhang Jike this time round. Both pairs will definately give our male paddlers a hard time.
Li Jia Wei and Sun Bei Bei will either take on Hong Kong's Tie Yana and Zhang Rui or Korea's Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young in the Semi-Finals. In the Finals, they will either take on Guo Yue and Li Xiao Xia or Zhang Yining and Wang Nan. Both teams from China.
5:08 AM
科威特赛王励勤有望碰柳承敏 王楠李佳薇狭路相逢
　　2008年国际乒联巡回赛科威特公开赛今天凌晨公布了男女共四个单项的正赛签表，男单方面，韩国名将柳承敏将有望对中国包揽男单四强构成最大的威胁。

　　男单方面，共有5名中国选手直接获得了正赛资格，其中王皓和马龙共同镇守上半区，王励勤、陈玘和马琳则被分到了下半区。在上半区，王皓和小将马龙分别被分在了第1号和第32号签位，如果不出意外的话，两人有望在半决赛中会师，王皓首轮的对手将是一名资格赛选手，在第三轮王皓将遭遇到中国香港老将高礼泽和比利时老将塞弗之间的胜者，而白俄罗斯老将萨姆索诺夫则有望在1/4决赛向王皓发起最强有力的冲击；相比之下，小将马龙将接连遭遇“海外兵团”选手的围剿，首轮遭遇资格赛选手的他有望在次轮遭遇新加坡选手杨子，他的第三轮对手则将从中国选手张钰和奥地利老将施拉格之间产生，此外，他还有可能在接下来的比赛的中遭遇新加坡的高宁或者是奥地利的陈卫星。

　　相比之下，男单下半区汇集了三名中国选手，首轮他们都将分别遭遇资格赛选手，但是在此后比赛中的竞争稍显激烈，其中马琳和陈玘有望在1/4决赛遭遇，王励勤则有可能和韩国选手柳承敏争夺一张4强的入场券。除以上五员大将之外，中国队小将张继科此次波也被委以重任出席本届科威特公开赛，他将首先通过资格赛的争夺才能获得正赛资格。

　　女单方面，在总共32个正赛签位中，中国军团占据了6席，其中，张怡宁、郭焱、刘诗雯和王楠被分在了上半区，郭跃和李晓霞两员小将则将联袂镇守下半区。现女单排名世界第一的张怡宁在首轮将对阵资格赛选手，第二轮她有望遭遇中国香港老将林菱，而上半区的一张4强入场券则有望在她和郭焱之间产生；尽管首轮也将遭遇一名资格赛选手，但是小将刘诗雯此后的晋级之路却并不平坦，在第二轮，她很有希望遭遇新加坡名将李佳薇，二人之间的胜者将有望和王楠争夺上半区另外一张4强入场券。07年世锦赛女单冠军郭跃也将在本次比赛中遭遇严峻挑战，本次比赛中，她有望分别遭遇韩国选手金璟娥和新加坡选手王越古，郭跃最近的一次比赛是在广州世乒赛女团决赛，当时她负于了同为新加坡选手的李佳薇，此番遭遇王越古，相信对于郭跃来讲也将是一场正名之战；而李晓霞的1/4决赛对手将从中国香港选手姜华珺和帖雅娜之间产生。

　　男双方面共有三对中国组合参赛，配对情况分别为：马琳搭档王皓、马龙搭档王励勤、陈玘搭档张继科，其中，前两对组合被分在了上半区，有望在半决赛上演一场中国德比，而陈玘和张继科的组合则有望和下半区的中国香港组合张钰/李静和新加坡组合高宁/杨子分别遭遇。

　　女双方面，参赛的6名选手也分别强强联手组成了三对组合出战，但是不幸的是她们均被分在了上半区，其中，郭跃/李晓霞组合在首轮遭遇资格赛选手后将有望和中国香港组合姜华珺/林菱交手，而郭焱/刘诗雯组合则不得不在第二轮提前遭遇王楠/张怡宁这对奥运女双冠军组合。而韩国组合金璟娥/朴美英、中国香港组合帖雅娜/张瑞和新加坡组合李佳薇/孙蓓蓓则有望对下半区的一张女双决赛入场券发起强有力的冲击。
（来源：新浪体育 作者：于勒沂）
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
11:16 PM
ITTF WJC Doha Junior Open 2008 - All Topples in Team Event
Our young paddlers all suffered defeat in the Team Event.

In the Junior Girls' Team Event, Sim Kai Xin Zena, together with Li Siyun Isabelle, fought hard in their first match, yet they suffered defeat from the Koreans. Seeded 3, they lost to the 2nd Seeds 3-0. Zena lost to Kim A Young 3-1, and Isabelle was defeated by Lee Pil Rang in straight games. The pair made up of Sim and Li then paired up in the doubles. They faced challenge from Lee Pil Rang and Kim Seul Ki. They suffered once again, 3-1.

Goh Yi Long, our only male paddler who entered the Junior Boys' Team Event, team up with host nation's Al-Sada Abdulla and took on Tunisia. However, this new team was unable to deliver results. In their first match, Chaieb Oussama defeated host nation player in straight games. Goh Yi Long put up a tough fight against Hmam Adem but was unable to change their fate. He lost by a small margin, 3-2. The pair then lost to their opponents 3-0 in the doubles.

Pang Xue Jie and Chew Zhe Yu Clarence showed much better results compared to their seniors. Seeded 3 in the Cadet Boys' Team, They overcame their first opponent Bahrain in straight games. Clarence beat Muawadh Loay, 3-2. Pang Xue Jie followed suit and crashed
Seddiqi Salman, 3-0. The pair then defeated Maru Tejas and Muawadh Loay, 3-1. And with a overall 3-0 score, they proceeded to the Quater FInals.

In the Quarter Finals, they ousted out Eygpt with a 3-1 score and reached the Semi-Finals. However, luck is no longer with our boys. They lost to 2nd Seeded, Hong Kong, 3-1. The only win, coming from Pang Xue Jie in his first match, which he defeated Yuen Ho Hin. Clarence then lost to Chiu Chung Hei, 3-0. They continued their unlucky fate by losing 3-0 in the doubles and 3-2 in the 4th match.

note: timing may vary due to the time difference between Singapore and Bahrain
Saturday, March 8, 2008
10:55 PM
ITTF WJC Bahrain Junior Open 2008 - Paddlers Performing Well in Group Stages
Despite not being able to qualify for the Main Draw for the Cadet Boys' and Junior Girls' Team Event, most of our paddlers did well enough today to qualify for the Main Draw in the Junior Boys' and Girls' and Cadet Boys' Singles Event.

Paricipating in the Cadet Boys' Singles Event is Pang Xue Jie and Chew Zhe Yu Clarence. The latter partcipating in his first ever ITTF Junior Pro Tour. Pang attained the first position in his group stage, beating host nation's MAHFOODH Sayed Ali and Qatar's player ABDULLA Khalifa. Clarence too achieve great results. He beat host nation's player BUSHELAIBI Mohamed before losing to Eygpt's SHOUMAN Mohamed. He then recovered to win ALKHADRAWI Ali (KSA). However, in his first match in the Main Draw, Clarence lost to Korea's
BAEK Kwang Il, and ended his Singles Journey. Xue Jie will make his debut in the Main Draw tomorrow.

Li Siyun Isabelle, being the Top Seeded in the Cadet Girls' Singles Event, she beat BARAVOK Katsiaryna (BLR) and ABU AJMIEH Nadeen (BRN) with much ease. She will take on ELDAWLATLY Nadeen from Eygpt tomorrow.

Performing well in the Cadet Singles, Pang Xue Jie did well for the Junior Singles as well. He defeated AL SULTAN Ahmed in straight games, before acounting for AKERLIND Carl, whose World Ranking is higher than Xue Jie. In his last match, he beat ABDULLA Khalifa in yet another straight games and appear top in his group.

Goh Yi Long also qualified to the main draw with 2 wins and 1 lose. His only defeat came from Sweden's SAFAI Perham, 3-2. He won BUSHELAIBI Mohamed from the host nation in the first match and beat ALSHARIF Muhamed from Qatar 3-1 in the last match.

However, Clarence did not perform as well. He lost all his 3 games against his opponents. He has ended most of his other compeitions in other Singles Event. Leaving only Junior Boys' Doubles Event where he pair with Korea's MIN Tai Hong.

4th Seeded Sim Kai Xin Zena did exceptionally well today. She overcame DRYKINA Yana from Belarus, 3-2, being crushing ELSHOBARY Reem and ROSCA CALOENESCU Andreea in straight games. On the other hand, Isabelle only manged to clinch 1 victory in her group match, toppling in the Group Stage.

Competition will continue tomorrow, Stay Tune for More Updates!

note: timing may vary due to the time difference between Singapore and Bahrain
Friday, March 7, 2008
11:14 PM
Olympic Asian Table Tennis Qualification - No More Singles, But There's Still Hope for Team
Cai Xiao Li lost to Korea DPR in today's encounter. And with this final match, Cai has come to the end of his compeition in the Olympic Asian Table Tennis Qualification Tournament.

However, Xiao Li may still get the chance of participating in the Team Event together with Gao Ning and Yang Zi. Both obtain their Olympic Qualification through their high World Ranking.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
11:08 PM
Olympic Asian Table Tennis Qualification - Xiao Li topples in Group Stage
It was an unlucky draw yesterday, yet luck was still not on Cai Xiao Li's side today. Cai is ranked 3rd in his group with 3 loses and 1 win. He manged to secure himself a last chance to win a entry to the olympics tomorrow, provided he beat Korea DPR's RI Chol Guk. However, if he were to lose, he will not be able to participate in the Men's Singles Event in the Beijing Olympics this year.

Despite his poor form, it was quite an achievement to win 1 set against China's Wang Liqin. Cai lost eventually 4-1. Xiaoli also lost to Korea's Yoon Jae Young and Akhlaghpasand Mohammadreza (IRI) by a small margin of 4-2 and 4-3 respectively.
10:27 PM
蔡晓黎参加奥运的机会渺茫
蔡晓黎在今天的比赛中仅得到1分。而这一味着他有很大的可能无法打进七强，与奥运无缘。

在今天的小组赛中，晓黎表现差强人意。他连续输给了中国的王励勤和韩国队的尹在荣，排名第三。

但蔡晓黎仍有希望参加奥运团体赛。只要明天在对阵朝鲜选手时，拿下对方，晓黎还是有希望的。
1:48 PM
载誉回国 我乒乓女队瞄准奥运奖牌
　　夺得世界女团亚军的我国国家乒乓球女队，昨天载誉回国。

　　由李佳薇率领的新加坡娘子军，在前天于中国广州落下帷幕的第49届世界团体锦标赛上，荣获女团亚军，取得历史性的突破。

　　这是我国参加历届世乒赛所取得的最佳成绩。李佳薇与王越古曾在去年的世界单项赛上，获得女双季军，而新加坡女队之前的女团历来最佳成绩是2000年的联合第五名。

　　由李佳薇、王越古、冯天薇、孙蓓蓓和于梦雨组成的我国女队，一路过关斩将，先后淘汰包括荷兰与日本在内的强队，最后在上个星期六的女团决赛中以1比3惜败于中国，屈居亚军。

　　中国女队是连续第八次夺冠。

　　尽管取得历史性佳绩，但我国女队昨天返回国门时，却未获得热烈欢迎。昨天下午到樟宜机场第三搭客大厦接机的，除了学生球员庞学杰的母亲外，就只有另两名新加坡乒乓球总会职员，场面极为冷清。

　　据了解，新加坡团队原本有意接机，但因临时无法凑集众多支持者，最后没有成行。

　　不过，五名女将所显露的喜悦之情，并没有因为寥寥无几的支持者而减少。她们摆在行李推车上的奖杯，还是吸引了许多人的目光。

　　队长李佳薇对这次取得的成绩，感到非常高兴，并且把这次的优秀成绩，归功于“神奇教练”刘国栋。


　　李佳薇说：“自从刘教练来了之后，他制造了一个又一个的奇迹，我得了2006年亚洲杯亚军，我们得了亚洲锦标赛和亚运会女团银牌，现在又得了世界女团第二，所以他的功劳真的很大。”

　　世界排名第八的李佳薇透露，球队接下来的目标是为新加坡完成夺取48年来首枚奥运奖牌的梦想。

　　她说：“我们夺得了世乒赛女团亚军后，现在就要为新加坡赢得奥运奖牌，而其他大型比赛的奖牌我都得过了，就差奥运奖牌，所以为了新加坡，为了自己，我一定会非常努力。”

　　我国首号女将王越古和21岁小将冯天薇也把眼光集中在今年8月的北京奥运会。

　　世界排名第六的王越古说：“这次夺得世界女团亚军是大家齐心协力的成果，也是对自己的一种肯定。我接下来会更加努力，争取在奥运会上有好的表现。”

　　首次参加大赛的冯天薇虽在世乒赛多场赛事担当主力，但她一点也不怯场。她说：“我赛前一点都不害怕，反正上场就是去拼对手。我也不怕奥运，其实我还很期待参加奥运。”

　　王越古和李佳薇已凭较高的世界排名，获得奥运参赛资格，而世界排名第28的冯天薇也已在上个月的东南亚区外围赛中，抢下了奥运女单席位。

　　为新加坡获得本届世乒赛男团第10名的两名主力高宁和杨子，已直接获得奥运参赛权。第三号球员蔡晓黎将参加后天在香港举行的亚洲区外围赛，与本区域好手争夺七张奥运入场券之一。
《联合早报》（编辑：黄爱莲）
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
10:52 PM
Olympic Asian Table Tennis Qualification - Draws

It was a unlucky draw for Cai Xiao Li.

Cai is drawn to group A together with Men's Champion, China's Wang Liqin, Korea's Yoon Jae Young.

Below is a summary of the Men's & Women's Groups

Men's Singles
Group A
WANG Liqin (CHN)
YOON Jae Young (KOR)
CAI Xiao Li (SIN)
ROY Soumyadeep (IND)
AKHLAGHPASAND Mohammadreza (IRI)

Group B
MIZUTANI Jun (JPN)
CHANG Yen-Shu (TPE)
RI Chol Guk (PRK)
SAHA Subhajit (IND)
NAM Nguye Hai (VIE)

Group C
CHEUNG Yuk (HKG)
KISHIKAWA Seiya (JPN)
JANG Song Man (PRK)
SANGUANSIN Phakpoom (THA)
ALTANTULGA Lkhagvadorj (MGL)
ISMOILOV Sirodjiddin (TJK)

Group D
CHIANG Peng Lung (TPE)
ACHANTA Sharath Kamal (IND)
KIM Hyok Bong (PRK)
SANGUANSIN Phuchong (THA)
AHADI Mehran (IRI)
TURBOLD Zorigt (MGL)

Women's Singles
Group A
Wang Nan (CHN)
KIM Mi Yong (PRK)
MUANGSUK Anisara (THA)
GHATAK Poulomi (IND)

Group B
FUKUOKA Haruna (JPN)
LU Yun Feng (TPE)
HYON Ryon Hui (PRK)
DAS Mouma (IND)

Group C
ZHANG Rui (HKG)
KIM Jong (PRK)
PAN Li Chun (TPE)
NG Sock Khim (MAS)
BATKHISHIG Batsaikhan (MGL)

Group D
HUANG I Hwa (TPE)
KOMWONG Nanthana (THA)
BEH Lee Wei (MAS)
AGGARWAL Neha (IND)
DENG Ye Seo (KOR)

Stay Tune for More Updates!!!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
12:40 AM
限制海外兵团提案通过 各队和运动员态度泾渭分明
　　广州世乒赛不仅有精彩激烈的赛事，还在争议中产生出焦点话题。在昨天中午举行的国际乒联理事会上，限制“海外兵团”的提案以48人投票、仅两人反对的高票数通过，将从今年9月1日开始实施。尽管此提案的始作俑者之一、国际乒联主席沙拉拉喜上眉梢，不过，这项以“提高乒乓球整体水平”为出发点的议案仍然在国际乒坛引起众说纷纭，有高调支持者，也有强烈反对者。

　　名词解释

　　限制“海外兵团”决议

　　该提案由瑞士乒协等向国际乒联提请审议，通过后将于今年9月1日起开始生效。最终通过的议案与原提案之间在注册年限上有所区别。决议规定，超过21周岁的乒乓球选手将不能代表其他协会参加世乒赛和世界杯；但如果该选手已经在该国(地区)定居，将可以代表注册协会出席国际比赛。18至21岁的选手需要在其他协会注册满7年，15至18岁的选手需注册满5年，而15岁以下的选手注册满3年，可代表其他协会出战。决议所限制的仅为世界乒乓球锦标赛与世界杯，4年一届的奥运会并不在其限制的范围之内，因为奥运会的参赛资格是由国际奥委会审定的。

　　打造联赛为正道

　　备受关注的限制“海外兵团”提案以高票数在昨天的国际乒联理事会上被通过，从此，“海外兵团”的人数将逐渐递减，也许在数年之后，这将沦为一个历史名词。在这个决议下，谁是受害者，谁又是受益者？

　　从乒乓球发展的大道理来说，国际乒联的决议没有商榷的余地，不过，从现状来看，那些未能爬上“金字塔”顶端的中国二线乒乓球运动员最可怜，国家队主力位置就那么四五个，即使入选国家队，也未必能够参加顶尖的世界比赛。不过，要是不限制的话，“中国打中国”的现象就将成为国际比赛中的常见局面，去年的女子世界杯上，16名顶级球手中竟有13个中国人，这让国际乒联主席沙拉拉哭笑不得之余，终于痛下决心要让“海外兵团”大大缩水。那些已经名正言顺成为“海外兵团”的运动员也许是幸运的，因为他们搭上了末班车，能够以代表其他国家与地区协会为代价去换来寻找“第二春”的机遇。

　　国际乒联的这个强硬的举措，正好催促着中国乒协加大力度把乒超联赛打造成“NBA”。在投票之前，国家体育总局副局长蔡振华就曾经表示，中国要以扩大乒超联赛规模和提高比赛级别去迎接这个决议的“出生”，也就是说，只有让中国的乒超联赛成为NBA，才能让数以千计的乒乓球运动员生存下来，到时，他们的第二春不再是在外国，而是在中国。

（来源：广州日报大洋网 作者：杨敏）
Saturday, March 1, 2008
11:57 PM
中国女乒三比一战胜新加坡队荣获八连冠
　　第四十九届世乒赛女团决赛三月一日晚在中国队与新加坡队之间展开，中国队郭跃、张怡宁、王楠经过四盘的艰苦搏杀，终于在先丢一盘的情况下，以三比一的成绩奋力击溃新加坡“海外兵团”的顽强阻击，勇夺世乒赛女团八连冠。

　　本次世乒赛上，中国队张怡宁、王楠、郭跃、郭焱和李晓霞五朵金花组成的强大女乒军团，六战全胜尽显中国队乒坛霸主气概。新加坡队在本次世乒赛小组赛上同样五战全胜，今天其派出的李佳薇、冯天薇、王越古均是世界排名很靠前的选手，双方均有夺冠的实力。

　　新加坡队的李佳薇无疑是今天赛场上最亮眼的明星，在对阵郭跃过程中她连续取得三局的胜利，为新加坡立下汗马功劳。张怡宁则在危急时刻成为中国队当之无愧的“定海神针”，在中国队先丢一分的情况下，张怡宁连续击败新加坡的冯天薇和李佳薇，为中国队的胜利立下头功。

　　中新决战也吸引了众多球迷前来观看，整个比赛场馆几乎座无虚席，“中国队必胜”，“中国队加油”、“欢迎来北京”等热情洋溢的标语牌比比皆是。张怡宁在与冯天薇关键的第三局比赛一度处境岌岌可危，就是在上万观众的震耳欲聋的加油声帮助下，张怡宁上演惊险大逆转，扳回关键一局。

　　郭跃首先上阵迎战新加坡世界名将李佳薇，从一开局，李佳薇都靠顽强的搏杀死死地缠住对手，让郭跃无法放开手来施展，比分反复拉锯缠斗，郭跃终以零比三的比分，丢掉了第一盘比赛。

　　张怡宁危急时刻披挂上阵，迎战新加坡小将冯天薇，除在第二局冯天薇利用张怡宁的一个关键失误，以十二比十赢得一局外；张怡宁大部分时间占据了比赛的上风，先后以十一比五、十一比八和十一比五的成绩击败对手，为中国队赢得了关键的一盘。

　　老将王楠随后出战新加坡实力最强的选手王越古，昔日“一姐”状态神勇，一开始就打出了八比二的完美开局，以逼人的气势连续三个十一比五将对手挑落马下，中国队二比一反超对手。

　　张怡宁接着再度上阵迎战李佳薇，李佳薇再度发挥出色，十一比九为新加坡队再下一局；第二局开始，张怡宁状态回勇，打出了自己的最佳状态，李佳薇虽顽强反击但仍然不敌，张怡宁很快地以十一比五、十一比四和十一比三的比分拿下该盘比赛，全场顿时响起了长时间的鼓掌和欢呼声，庆祝中国队的胜利。

　　这样，中国队就以大比分三比一的比分赢得本次世乒赛女团的决赛，连续第八次蝉联冠军。

（新闻来源：中国新闻网）
11:51 PM
World Team Table Tennis Championships 2008 - Winning Silver is equivalent to Gold!

Despite the Coach Liu Guo Dong claimed that they only had 1% of chances in winning the Chinese National Team, our paddlers still gave their best, and Li Jia Wei managed to win the opening match against World No. 3, Guo Yue, in straight games.

It was an remarkable achievement for Li Jia Wei, as Guo Yue has not lost to any Non-Chinese National Team Paddlers in the recent years. On top of that, in the 6 encounters Li had against Guo Yue, the odds were against Li, with Li winning only 1 game in the Korea Open 2004. However, Jia Wei still crashed Guo Yue 3-0.

21 year old, Feng Tian Wei had great preformance as well. Despite knowing that she will face World No.1, Zhang Yining, she still tried her best and fought hard. She managed to caused Zhang much problems and won the first set. Although Tianwei lost 3-1 eventually.

Wang Yue Gu played against Wang Nan in the third match. In the previous encounters, Yue Gu has never won Wang Nan. It was no surprise for today as well. However, she showed the World why she was the highest ranked Non-Chinese National Team player as she displayed a high level of skills. She lost 3-0 to Wang Nan.

In the fourth match, it was a match between the two leading players of the respective teams; Li Jia Wei against Zhang Yining. It was the same for Jia Wei. She has never won Yining in the previous encounters. Both trained together when young, before Li came over to Singapore. However, their skills were no longer on par today. Li lost once again to Zhang with a score of 3-1.

Our paddlers fought hard and lost with glory. Achieving Silver is as good as achieving Gold.
11:29 PM
郭跃连丢三局负于李佳薇 中国女队出师不利
　　新浪体育讯　北京时间3月1日晚19点30分，第49届世乒赛女团决赛在广州打响，分别由中国女队对阵新加坡女队，本场比赛中，中国队派出了张怡宁、郭跃和王楠上场。在率先结束的第一场比赛中，中国队的郭跃连输三局丢掉第一分。

　　第一场比赛由中国队的郭跃对阵新加坡队的李佳薇。第一局比赛，李佳薇回球挂网，郭跃先得一分，但是紧接着李佳薇利用郭跃的回球出台将比分扳成了1平，随即双方比分交替上升，郭跃利用对方发球失误和自己的进攻得分将比分改写为4-2，不过在接下来的两个回合中，李佳薇连得两分，再度将比分扳平，4平之后，郭跃在进攻上连续得手，比分也再度被改写成6-4，随后李佳薇连得三分，以7-6实现反超，郭跃抢攻得手再度将比分扳平，7平后，双方互有攻防，比分一直僵持不下，从8平一直打到9平，李佳薇在对攻中率先抢拉拿到局点，并最终以11-9取得了第一局的胜利。

　　第二局比赛郭跃先声夺人拿到第一分，但是李佳薇在此后利用郭跃的反手漏洞频频进攻连得三分，3-1后郭跃正手拉直线得分，2-3，随即郭跃利用发球直接得分，将比分扳成3平，在相持对攻中，郭跃反手得分，将比分反超，并在此后将领鹊挠攀评┐蟮搅?-3，此后李佳薇得到一分，郭跃发球失误让对手获得了扳平比分的机会，5平后双方比分交替上升，郭跃在6平之后连得两分以8-6领先，此后李佳薇连得两分再度将比分扳成了8平，双方陷入了胶着的竞争态势，之后郭跃进攻再得一分，李佳薇回球出台，郭跃拿到了第二局的局点，不过李佳薇在郭跃及发球之后抢攻得手，将比分改写成9-10，中国队关键时刻叫了暂停，暂停后郭跃回球出台，双方战成10平，李佳薇回球擦网，随即又擦边，李佳薇11-10领先，关键时刻，李佳薇的回球擦网出界，郭跃将比分扳成了11平，双方相持中郭跃回球出界，李佳薇再度获得局点机会，中国队马上又叫了暂停，包括施之皓、孔令辉等人都在场边对她面授机宜，暂停之后，郭跃相持中拉球出界，李佳薇以13-11拿下了第二局。

　　0-2大比分落后之后，郭跃率先得到了第一分，但是李佳薇的擦边球让郭跃防不胜防，此后双方互有胜负，从2平一直僵持到3平，3平之后，李佳薇连续得分，将比分差距拉大到5-3，尽管郭跃再得一分，但是李佳薇在此后连得两分，7-4领先三分，此后李佳薇的进攻得手再次将比分改写称8-4，郭跃落后4分之后反击得分，将比分改写成5-8，但是郭跃接发球出现急躁的情绪，出现失误，李佳薇9-5领先，随后李佳薇吃发球，郭跃扳回一分，李佳薇关键时刻再得一分，10-6获得局点，随后郭跃连得三分，暂时以9-10落后，发球后郭跃抢拉出界，李佳薇以11-9取得了胜利。

（来源：新浪体育 作者：新体）
10:01 PM
World Team Table Tennis Championships 2008 - 2nd and 10th Positions for Women's and Men's Team Respectively
Both the Men's and Women's Team has concluded all their matches in the World Team Table Tennis Championships. Out Men's Team are awarded the 10th position, whist for our Female Team, it was the best results they ever get - A SILVER!!!

It was a play off against Austria for the 9th position. However, our Men's Team lost. Yang Zi played against Habesohn Daniel beating him 3-2. However, Gao Ning lost to Gardos Robert 3-2, levelling the score at 1-1. Cai Xiao Li was unable to keep up with his opponent. He was defeated by Presslmayer Bernhard 3-1. In the crucial 4th match, Gao Ning lost once again, but this time to Habesohn Daniel 3-0.

With a overall 3-1 score, our Men's Team was awarded the 10th Position.
11:35 AM
我国第一次打进世乒赛女团决赛
　　我国国家女队昨天在中国广州举行的世界乒乓球团体锦标赛上，以3比0轻取半决赛对手日本，有史以来首次打进女团决赛，取得历史性的突破。

　　新加坡的世乒赛历来最佳成绩，是首二号女将王越古与李佳薇去年在克罗地亚夺得的女双季军，而女团的最好成绩是2000年获得的联合第五名。

　　我国女队将在今天的决赛中，与上七届冠军中国女队争夺锦标。

　　新加坡乒总高水平主管李斌汉，在受访谈到半决赛轻取日本时说：“我军现在的士气非常高昂，虽然日本队的战斗力也很旺盛，但她们的技术水平比我们低一些，所以虽然她们摆出了怪阵，但还是让我们以直落三盘打了胜仗。”

　　对今天的决赛，他说：“世界前五名女球员都来自中国，所以任何一队对垒中国都是处于下风。我们明天必定全力以赴，争取佳绩。”

　　世界排名第六的我国首号女将王越古昨天率先上阵，以12比10、11比9、11比4轻取日本15岁左手小将石川佳纯，为新加坡拔得头筹，也为本身去年的亚洲杯赛失利报了一箭之仇。

　　次号选手李佳薇接着出场，她虽然从未与日本全国冠军平野早矢香交手，但还是凭着丰富的作战经验，以6比11、11比7、13比11、11比8战胜对手，助新加坡建立2比0的优势。

　　第三个出场的冯天薇，面对世界排名第九的日本首号女将福原爱，一点也不手软。刚在今年初入籍新加坡的冯天薇，以11比8、11比5、11比8直落三局，为新加坡拿下决赛资格。

　　中国在另一场半决赛中，以3比0轻取香港，连续第19次报到女团决赛。

　　新加坡曾在去年的亚洲锦标赛和2006年的多哈亚运会上，与中国决战女团，但两次都以0比3败下阵来，屈居亚军。

（来源：联合早报 作者：吴秀金）
1:59 AM
新加坡轻取两届季军 决赛将力拼中国队
在2月29日傍晚结束的女团第二场半决赛中，新加坡队以三比零顺利淘汰了两届世乒赛季军日本队，将与中国队在明天晚上争夺本届世乒赛的女团冠军。日本队在这场关键的战役中大胆派上年仅15岁的小将石川佳纯担纲首发，对阵新加坡的实力选手王越古。

在去年10月底于越南举行的亚洲杯上，石川佳纯曾在小组赛中五局战胜过王越古。今天她的发挥仍然可圈可点，尽管最后从局分上看是0：3完败，但前两局的比分都与对手相差不远。王越古以12-10、11-9、11-4三局获胜。

次盘日本队派出了之前状态上乘的平野早矢香，迎战新加坡名将李佳薇。双方在前两局战成一平，第三局李佳薇上手更加积极，着重与平野打相持。平野在开局几分里对李佳薇的正手回球非常不适应，连丢五分，一度以1-6落后。然而打到局末时平野顽强地将比分追到8-10.此时新加坡主教练刘国栋喊了暂停。但暂停之后李佳薇反而连输两分，与对手又回到同一起跑线：10-10。但最后关头大赛经验充足的李佳薇还是以13-11把握住了胜利。


第四局李佳薇在相持球中通过灵活的变线和反手大力扣杀打得平野措手不及。尽管平野在2-8大比分落后的情况下抓住李佳薇保守的心态，将比分在局末追到8-10，但最终还是没有挽回败局。李佳薇以11-8、局分3：1为新加坡队赢得第二盘的胜利。

新加坡队第三个上场的冯天薇表现依然神勇，以11-8、11-5和11-8完胜福原爱，为新加坡队将这场酣畅淋漓的胜利圆满收尾。

赛后王越古告诉记者："上次在亚洲杯的小组赛中自己因为发挥得不好，输给了她(石川佳纯)，其实我觉得今天的胜利是很正常的事情。"李佳薇对于输给平野早矢香的首局比赛,则做出了慢热的解释："今天第一局一上来自己有些慢热，进入状态比较慢，再加上对手第一局就拼得很凶，所以输掉了。"当记者问及明天决赛对中国队将如何准备时，李佳薇说："这是我们第一次打进世乒赛的团体决赛，而中国队又是实力最强的对手，我们肯定要抱着拼的心态去打好每一盘比赛。"

(作者:ittf.com.cn 照片：Remy Gros)




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