Friday, August 22, 2008
9:21 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - So Near Yet So Far!

Once again, the bronze medal was so near yet so far. Women's Team Captain Li Jia Wei lost to China's Guo Yue in the Bronze Medal playoff, and settled for 4th position once again!

Earlier on, Li lost to Defending Champion and World No. 1, China's Zhang Yining, 4-1.

Guo, ranked No. 2 in the world, struggled at times against Li, the world's sixth-ranked player. The match featured many fast rallies, with Guo overpowering her opponent with blistering topspin shots to the corners. Li lost the 1st game, 11-6, and in the 2nd game, she was leading in before faltering 13-11. However, Li levelled the score with 2 wins in the 3rd and 4th game, 11-9 and 11-7 respectively. Guo showed no lenency as she took the next 2 in style. Guo won 11-3, 11-4.

In the interview after her lost against Guo Yue, Li mentioned "My performance was still alright but I lost. It was my last match today and I really wanted to win a new medal for Singapore. I am very sad. Singapore cheered for me. But I gave my all."

Despite having to settle for 4th position, Li is the best performed Sportswoman in the Olympics!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
11:44 PM
Beijing Olympic Games - Captain Li Jia Wei is the only paddler left standing!

Singapore paddler Li Jiawei, who helped Singapore to win the women’s table tennis team silver earlier in the Olympics, is the only hope left in the women’s singles competition.

The Woman's Team Captain defeated Wang Chen from USA 15-13, 11-6, 12-10, 13-15, 11-4 to reach the semi-finals. Li will be facing her childhood training mate, Zhang Yining in the semi-finals tomorrow.

Li has not beaten Zhang, the world No 1, in 12 clashes to date, the latest defeat coming in the team final where she lost in four sets.

Zhang enters tomorrow’s semi-final after beating Singapore’s Feng Tianwei 4-1.

However, the match was more intensive than what the score suggest.

Feng, went toe-to-toe with Zhang in furious rallies before eventually capitulating 11-13, 14-12, 12-14, 10-12, 11-13.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
11:47 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Li and Feng through to Round of 16!

Our female paddlers continue their good run in the Women's Singles event. Li Jia Wei and Feng Tian Wei continue to advance to the round of 16, only Wang Yue Gu bowed out earlier than expected.

Li easily overcame Croatia's Tamara Boros in the third round, winning 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5. She is now in the round of 16 where she will face Hong Kong's Lin Ling.

Feng, who played a big role in clinching silver for Singapore in the team event earlier, continued her good form. She beat South Korea's Dang Ye Seo 11-4, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5. Feng will take on Netherlands' Li Jie in the next round.

Wang, however, fell to Dominican Republic's Wu Xue 9-11, 11-9, 2-11, 8-11, 10-12.
10:08 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Yang Zi through to Round of 16!
In the men's singles second round action on Wednesday, Yang Zi overcame Portugal's Marcos Freitas 4-2.

Yang Zi opened the score by taking the first game 11-4. But he dropped the next two 6-11, 2-11. Yang quickly bounced back, sealing the remaining games 11-3, 11-9, 11-6.

Yang said: "I was nervous...It's my first Olympics. My opponent's skill is also better than mine. I lost many points, especially in the middle of the match. Hopefully, I'll do better in the next match."

However, Gao Ning crashed out, losing to Croatia's Tan Rui Wu without any guidance from the coach.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
11:16 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Women Silver Medalists!

The Singapore flag was raised at an Olympic Games for the second time after a 48-year wait after our female paddlers win a dazzling silver in the Women's Table Tennis Team Event.

Our paddlers faced troubles against powerhouse China and they faltered 3-0.

In the first match, Feng Tian Wei got off to a good start by leading Wang Nan 1-0. She won the 1st set, 11-9. However, her nerves got the better of her. She lost 3 games in a row, 11-3, 11-8, 11-6.

Li Jia Wei took on World No. 1 Zhang Yining in the second match. Li did well in the beginning by taking the first set by the same margin 11-9. However, in the next 3 sets, Zhang increased her number of attacks and Li faltered 11-3, 11-4, 11-7.

Li Jia Wei and Wang Yue Gu then lost to China powerful duo Zhang Yining and Guo Yue 3-0 in the last doubles match. In the 3rd set, when China held the match point, Coach Liu Guo Dong called a 'time out', which shocked many. He told the paddlers that it is not everytime that they get into the finals, and they should show China what they are made of!


Our paddlers may not have won GOLD, but they have definately made HISTORY!
Friday, August 15, 2008
6:22 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - GO FOR GOLD!!!!!

THE WOMEN PADDLERS HAVE WON SINGAPORE'S HISTORICAL OLYMPIC SILVER MEDAL!

Our paddlers beat South Korea in a thrilling 3-2 encounter. Feng Tian Wei had a good start by defeating Dang Ye Seo, who learnt her traits in China before moving to S.Korea. However, Li Jia Wei was unable to take revenge of the 2004 Athens Olympics. She once again faltered, 3-2. The doubles of Li and Wang Yue Gu did us pround by defeating Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young in sraight games. Wang then lost to the 29 year old Dang. Allowing the S.Korea team to level the points. Feng Tian Wei took the last point by beating defender Park Mi Young.

1st match: World number 9 Feng Tianwei conceded her opponent Dang Ye Seo (no. 26) only 12 points in three games. Singapore's women werewas already in the final of the Evergrande World Championships earlier this year.

2nd match: Defensive player Kim Kyung Ah equalises for Korea. 11-9 in the fifth game.

3rd match: Singapore wins the double 3-0 and comes close to a medal. Korea's Dang Ye Seo must win now.

4th match: Dang Ye Seo (no. 26) convinces and beats Wang Yue Gu (no. 7) with 3-0. Park (no. 21) must beat Feng (no. 9) to enter the final with Korea.

The Women's Team has already secured a Silver Medal. They will play against powerhouse China on Sunday 7.30pm in the Finals!
12:42 AM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Double Defeats for Men's Team!

Singapore's table tennis men's team lost to Croatia and Germany in the Beijing Olympics on Thursday.They have failed to advance, after coming in third in Group B. Germany tops the standing in the group.
Below are the results:
Men's team: Germany beat Singapore 3-1
Boll Timo (Ger) bt Cai Xiaoli (SIN) 11-7,11-2, 11-5
Gao Ning (SIN) bt Ovtcharov Dimitrij (Ger) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8
Suss Christian/Boll Timo (Ger) bt Yang Zi/Gao Ning (SIN) 11-8, 11-3, 12-10
Ovtcharov Dimitrij (Ger) bt Yang Zi (SIN) 10-12, 11-3, 4-11, 11-6, 11-5
Men's team: Croatia beat Singapore 3-1
Tan Ruiwu (Croatia) bt Yang Zi (SIN) 11-8, 11-5, 11-8
Gao Ning (SIN) bt Primorac Zoran (Croatia) 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8
Gacina Andrej/Tan Ruiwu (Croatia) bt Cai Xiaoli/Yang Zi (SIN) 10-12, 12-10, 13-11, 11-8Primorac Zoran (Croatia) bt Cai Xiaoli (SIN) 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
6:29 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Through to the Semi-Finals!

The Singapore women are on the march to make history. They are ready to end Singapore's 48 years of medal drought. In the last group match, Li Jia Wei, together with Feng Tian Wei and Wang Yue Gu, beat Holland 3-0. And hey will be playing South Korea tomorrow.

World No. 9, Feng, took the the stage and and was stretchd before defeating Li Jiao 3-2. Timina Elena then faltered against Li Jia Wei in the 2nd Singles. Coach Liu Guo Dong tried something new to the doubles pair which didn't work. Wang and Li had to struggle to make the overall score 3-0.
With this clear margin, our female paddlers march proundly into the Semi-Finals which they will take on South Korea at 2.30pm. Li Jia Wei said in the interview that no matter who their semi-final opponent is, they will be ale to overcome it!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
9:19 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - 2nd Success of the Day!

Nine hours later after their match against the Americans, the women paddlers were back in action against Nigeria. There is a difference in the level of skills between the 2 teams.

In the first match, Feng Tian Wei took only 11 minutes to overcome Bose Kaffo, dumping the Nigerian paddler 11-3, 11-4, 11-2! In the second match, World No 6 Li Jia Wei won her tie against Cecilia Otu Offiong 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 in 14 minutes. Li then partnered Wang again for the doubles tie and they were stunned 15-13 in the first set by Funke Oshonaike and Offiong. But the Singaporeans were better skilled and in good form. They recovered well to take the next three games 11-5, 11-5, 11-5.

Our Paddlers will take on Holland in tomorrow’s match at 1430 hours. It will be the deciding factor if our paddlers can proceed to the semi-finals.
4:58 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Men's Team defeat Canada 3-0!

Seeded seventh, the Men’s Team has had less attention than their female counterparts, but the trio of Gao Ning, Yang Zi and Cai Xiaoli had no less drive to win as they beat Canada yesterday. They too defeated Canada 3-0. However the win was not as easy as the score implies.

Gao Ning , who will be taking on Zhang Peng in the first match won with a margin of 3-1 (13-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9). However, Yang Zi who is suffering from an ankle injury was stretched to the full 5 games distance before overcoming Peter-Paul Pradeeban 8-11, 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7. Yang Zi continue to pair up with Cai Xiao Li in the doubles event and they did well once again to beat Sheng Qiang and Peter-Paul Pradeeban 9-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-5.

The Men’s Team will take on Croatia tomorrow morning (14/8) at 1000 hours and later in the evening at 1930 hours, they will face the second seeds – Germany.
1:25 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic - Women Paddlers crashed out the Americans!

In what was called a stunning start, the female paddlers crashed out the United States earlier today. The America Camp was supported by the likes former China National Team and World Champions Gao Jun and Wang Chen. The trio of Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei, which is Seeded 2 behind the China Team gave their best by defeating them 3-0.

World No.7 Wang was first up against Gao Jun. Wang won the first game 11-6 before Gao retaliate and took the second game 11-7. However Wang stayed calm and remained focus. She won the next 2 game 11-8, 11-4. Teammate Feng Tian Wei did the same but defeating Wang Chen by the same margin of 3-1. She won the first game 11-2, then drop the 8-11, before taking the next 2 game 11-8, 11-4. The last match was a doubles match that fielded Li Jia Wei and Wang Yue Gu. They ousted Gao Jun and Crystal Huang in straight games, 11-5, 11-9, 11-7.

They will be taking on Nigeria at 7.30pm later tonight.
Monday, August 11, 2008
10:10 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Singles Draws
The draw for the Men's and Women's Singles was conducted earlier at.

Li Jia Wei will face stiff competition coming from Hong Kong's Lin Ling in the round of 16 and South Korea's Kim Kyung Ah or America's Wang Chen in the Quarter Finals. The Korean had denied Li of the Bronze medal 4 years back. However, out of their 8 encounters so far, Li had won 5 of them. If Li is to proceed according to Seedings, she will take on World No. 1 and Olympic Champion Zhang Yining in the Semi-Finals.

Also Quarter Finals, Wang Yue Gu is likely to face China's Guo Yue whilst Feng Tian Wei will meet Defending Champion Zhang Yining. Before that, Wang will have to overcome Japan's Hirano Sayaka and Feng will have to defeat Austria Liu Jia. Both opponents should not pose much problems.

In the Men's Singles, Yang Zi will have to play the qualifying round, whilst for Gao Ning, he is likely to meet Hong Kong's Li Ching in the round of 16. If he is able to pass the hurdle, he will then meet China's Wang Liqin in the Quarter Finals.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
11:19 AM
Table Tennis Olympian - Yang Zi (Part 3)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
11:04 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Team Draws!
Both our Men and Women's Team managed to avoid powerhouse China in the group stages. Seeded 2, our Women's Team is drawn into Group B. Other Nations include Netherlands, USA and Nigeria. Our Men's Team were drawn into Group B as well, together with Germany, Croatia and Canada.

Below is the list of Groupings.

Men's Team
Group A: China, Austria, Greece, Australia
Group B: Germany, Singapore, Croatia, Canada
Group C: Korea Republic, Chinese Taipei, Sweden, Brazil
Group D: Hong Kong China, Japan, Russia, Nigeria

Women's Team
Group A: China, Austria, Croatia, Nigeria
Group B: Singapore, Netherlands , USA, Dominican Republic
Group C: Hong Kong China, Germany, Poland, Romania
Group D: Korea Republic, Japan, Spain, Australia

Our Women's Team will commence the compeition on th 13th August 2008 at 1000 hours. Their first opponent is Dominican Republic. The Men's Team will begin their Olympic journey by facing Croatia at 1430 on the same day.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
4:10 PM
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Team Seedings
Seeding for the Olympic Team Event is published 2 days ago. Our female team is seeded two, behind power house China, while the Men's Team is ranked 7th.

The seeding is based on the individual Men’s and Women’s Ranking lists issued by the International Table Tennis Federation for July 2008 and takes into account only those players who are competing in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The list of ranking is as follows:
Men's Seeding
1. China
2. Germany
3. Korea Republic
4. Hong Kong
5. Japan
6. Chinese Taipei
7. Singapore
8. Austria
9. Croatia
10. Greece
11. Sweden
12 Russia
13. Brazil
14. Nigeria
15. Canada
16. Australia

Women's Seeding
1. China
2. Singapore
3. Hong Kong
4. Korea Republic
5. Japan
6. Germany
7. Netherlands
8. Austria
9. United States of America
10. Croatia
11. Spain
12. Poland
13. Romania
14. Australia
15. Dominican Republic
16. Nigeria

Possible draws
Men's Team
Group A: China, Singapore or Austria, Croatia or Greece, Canada or Australia
Group B: Germany, Singapore or Austria, Croatia or Greece, Canada or Australia
Group C: Korea Republic, Japan or Chinese Taipei, Sweden or Russia, Brazil or Nigeria
Group D: Hong Kong China, Japan or Chinese Taipei, Sweden or Russia, Brazil or Nigeria

Women's Team
Group A: China, Netherlands or Austria, USA or Croatia, Dominican Republic or Nigeria
Group B: Singapore, Netherlands or Austria, USA or Croatia, Dominican Republic or Nigeria
Group C: Hong Kong China, Japan or Germany, Spain or Poland, Romania or Australia
Group D: Korea Republic, Japan or Germany, Spain or Poland, Romania or Australia

The official draw for the Team Event will be conducted on the 7th August 2008 at 1500 hours.
1:08 PM
Table Tennis Olympian - Feng Tianwei
  原籍中国黑龙江的冯天薇今年3月正式加入新加坡乒总,至今已代表我国参加了国际乒总职业巡回赛五站赛事。

  刚度过21岁生日的冯天薇,在上个月下旬的台湾公开赛上,不仅拿下21岁女单冠军,还勇夺公开组女单亚军,一鸣惊人。

  冯天薇在国际赛中抢眼的表现,立即引起许多人的讨论,甚至有中国网站认为她的实力已超越新加坡二三号女将王越古和孙蓓蓓,直逼首号女将李佳薇,“有望速成一姐”。

  尽管最后败给了李佳薇,但冯天薇在杀入台湾公开赛决赛途中,先后把三位世界名将王越古、奥地利的刘佳和日本的福冈春菜拉下马,实力可见一斑。

  冯天薇昨天受访时说:“参加了五站比赛,台湾站成绩最好。不过,由于太久没有参加国际赛,一时适应不过来,因此前三站(韩国、日本、中国南京)的表现不是很好。”

  她在上个周末的中国深圳公开赛上,杀入女单复赛八强,最后栽在世界冠军中国好手郭跃的拍下。

  然而,冯天薇的实力受到肯定,不只是因为她在职业巡回赛中的战绩,而是熟悉她背景的乒乓球爱好者都知道,她虽然自小就展露出不错的潜力,却一直到今天才在国际赛上取得佳绩。

  她曾在2002年勇夺中国全国青少年锦标赛女单冠军,并在同一年入选中国国家青年队。

  不过,由于一直未取得预期中的理想成绩,冯天薇毅然在两年前远走他乡,到日本参加俱乐部甲级联赛,而且由始至终都不曾放弃夺取奥运奖牌的梦想。

  她说:“我到日本打了两年的甲级联赛,之后经过一些人的推荐和拉线,新加坡乒总和我联络,而我当时也很想到新加坡继续发展事业,所以就来了,希望有机会代表新加坡,实现夺得奥运奖牌的梦。”

  乒总高水平主管李斌汉说:“冯天薇很听话,而且在训练中的态度非常积极。国家女队教练刘国栋也认为,她是很乖的球员,自我约束力很强。”

  短短一个月,冯天薇的世界排名已从第73名窜升至第40名,只要再经过多几项大赛的磨炼,必定能与李佳薇、王越古和孙蓓蓓等国家女队队员,一同为新加坡争取更高的荣誉。
Saturday, August 2, 2008
4:23 PM
Table Tennis Women's World Cup - Confirmed List
The final list of players is now confirmed. Wang Nan (CHN) has withdrawn from the competition. Replacing her will be Li Xiaoxia also from China.

Below is the list of confirmed participants.

Li Xiaoxia, CHN
LI Jiao, NED
JIANG Huajun, HKG
YANG Fen, CGO
MIAO Miao, AUS
GAO Jun, USA
ZHANG Yining, CHN
GUO Yue, CHN
LI JIa Wei, SIN
BEH Li Wei, MAS
WANG Yue Gu, SIN
FENG Tianwei, SIN
TIE Yana, HKG
POTA Georgina, HUN
Wu Xue, DOM
DODEAN Daniela, ROU
Friday, August 1, 2008
1:38 AM
42nd International Children Games - Xue Jie and Isabelle win Gold
Sports School young talents Pang Xue Jie and Li Siyun Isabelle managed to clinch the Gold for the Boys and Girls Championships respectively despite the 42nd International Children Games, fielding strong teams from China, Chinese Taipei and Thailand.

Pang defeated Dang Le Trung (Vietnam) in the finals, 3-0. Isabelle was stretched to the full 5 games distance before ovecoming Tang Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei.

Singapore Sports School win a total of 11 Medals which comes from Table Tennis, Swimming and Track and Field.




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