Men's Singles/Preliminaries
Men's Singles Preliminaries Near End with Hard-Fought Battles
With only one round left in the men's singles preliminaries, action heated up in Friday evening's action. Many of the world's top-ranked players were put to the test by aggressive, tough opponents. Croatia's Zoran PRIMORAC, ranked 12th in the world, won 63 percent of his serves in his bid to defeat Zoltan BATORFI (HUN). He jumped out to an early 21:17 win in the first game, but BATORFI fought back in the second game and turned the tables on his opponent, beating him, 21:17. In the third game, PRIMORAC's experience and ability shone through as he put the Hungarian away, 21:10. Sweden's Jorgen PERSSON, 13th best in the world, was surprised by Hugo HOYAMA (BRA), currently ranked 79th, in his preliminary match. After winning the first game 21:17, the Swede failed to live up to his ranking, losing the next two games 16:21 and 14:21. HOYOMA won 65 percent of his services, compared to PERSSON's 58 percent. In another match, the crowd came alive as Jimmy BUTLER of the United States challenged another Swede, Peter KARLSSON. Ranked 14th in the world, KARLSSON pulled out a first-game win (21:19). Amidst chants of "USA, USA" from the spectators, BUTLER came back strong in the second game to soundly beat his opponent by a 21:14 margin. KARLSSON proved to be too strong a match, however, and went on to an easy 21:14 win in the third game. The final round of the men's singles preliminaries begins at 10:00 on Saturday.
Chinese Duo Struggle in Quarterfinal Match
In a spectacular match that took 1 hour and 9 minutes to complete, the Chinese pair DENG Yaping and QIAO Hong narrowly survived an upset by the strong CHEN Chiu-Tan and CHEN Jing (TPE) team. The 1992 Olympic doubles gold medalists and the 1995 world women's doubles champions, DENG and QIAO fought for every point they won. It wasn't enough in the first game, however, as the Chinese Taipei team took the win 18:21.
The Chinese pair, who looked a little sluggish early in the match, came on strong in the second game for a 21:16 victory. The battle for points became more intense in the third game, which found DENG and QIAO behind until a late surge gave them a final 21:19 advantage. The feisty Chinese Taipei team used great skill and determination in the fourth game, during which the score was tied nine times. They prevailed 24:22.
The fifth game delighted the crowd as the tension increased. Tied at two games a piece, the two pairs battled back and forth for each point. Falling behind in the game, CHEN and CHEN volleyed their way to a 17:17 tie. From that point, the game was tied four more times. The crowd came to its feet during the final two volleys, which the Chinese won to take the game 23:21.
In the second quarterfinal match of the evening, the Korean team of KIM Moo-Kyo and PARK Kyoung-Ae gave spectators a lesson in the art of table tennis. They easily reached and smashed their way to a swift defeat of CHAI Po Wa, 7th-ranked singles player in the world, and CHAN Tan Lui of Hong Kong. They won the match in three straight games, 21:18, 21:13, 21:13.
The other Chinese pair to make it to the quarterfinals had a much easier time with their opponent. LIU Wei, coming off a tough singles match against the United States' Amy FENG earlier in the day, and her partner QIAO Yunping, quickly defeated KOYAMA Chire and TODO Taeko (JPN) 21:09, 21:15, 21:15.
The final matchup of the night featured a close contest between Korea's PARK HAE-Jung and RYU Ji-Hae and the Russian Federation's Irina PALINA and Yelena TIMINA. Jumping out to an early two-game lead, the Korean duo lost a close third game, 20:22. In a fourth game filled with lengthy volleys, the Koreans came out on top, 21:15. In Saturday's semifinals, DENG/QIAO (CHN) will play KIM/PARK (KOR) and PARK/RYU (KOR) will challenge LIU/QIAO (CHN)
Key Players in Top Form in Men's Preliminaries
The world's best men's singles table tennis players proved their worth Friday morning as preliminary action continued. Ranked first in the world, China's KONG Linghui handily defeated his Japanese opponent, TASAKI Toshio, 21:09 and 21:14. Joerg ROSSKOPF (GER), the fifth-ranked player in the world, swiftly shut out Hong Kong's LO Chuen Tsung in two straight games. In another quick match, left-hander Jean-Philippe GATIEN (FRA), the world's 9th best, used his powerful forehand loop to defeat CHOE Kyong (PRK) 2-0. Victory did not come so easily for Sweden's Jan-Ove WALDNER, 4th in the world, as he struggled to come from behind to defeat Korea's LEE Chul-Seung in the first game of their match, 21:11. The second game proved equally as challenging, but the Swede prevailed 21:19. Perhaps the biggest scare came for the world's 6th-best player, China's LIU Guoliang. It took him three games to put away an aggressive Slobodan GRUJIC (YUG), 19:21, 21:16, 21:11.
"I really had a good start," said Carl PREAN (GBR) after quickly defeating Jamaica's Stephen HYLTON in two straight games. "I was fortunate to always be ahead. There wasn't too much pressure on me because I took an early 6:1 lead in the first game. I had a bit of trouble with my serve, but overall am very pleased with my play."
USA's FENG Nearly Pulls Upset of China's LIU
The matchup between the United States' Amy FENG and the fourth-ranked player in the world, LIU Wei (CHN) was the highlight of this morning's women's singles final preliminary round. FENG began the match with a convincing 21:16 win in the first game. Losing the second game 08:21, FENG gave LIU a challenge in the third game, but the Chinese athlete was too strong. LIU won the third game 21:15. China's DENG Yaping, ranked No. 1 in the world, had a much easier time in her match as she defeated a struggling Marie SVENSSON (SWE), 21:14, 21:15. The 1994 European singles champion, SVENSSON did not appear to be on top of her game Friday morning. Germany's Nicole STRUSE, ranked 12th in the world, had a tough match against Japan's TODO Taeko. STRUSE jumped out to a commanding 21:12 win in the first game but faltered in the second as TODO came on strong to win the second game 21:18. The tough German fought back in the third game to seal the victory with a 21:16 win. The women's singles field is now down to 16 contenders. The winner of each group will advance into a knock-out, single-elimination competition beginning Friday.
"I knew roughly what to expect coming into today's game. I think I got better as the preliminaries progressed," said Lisa LOMAS (GBR).
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| The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July). |