World No. 2 Ma Lin Upsets Kong Linghui in ITTF Men's World Cup

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 01, 2002

World No. 2 Ma Lin Upsets Kong Linghui in ITTF Men's World Cup

In an all Chinese affair, world number two paddler Ma Lin trounced Olympic and world champion Kong Linghui 4:1 in a group B match of the 2002 ITTF Men's World Cup Thursday in Jinan.

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World No. 2 Ma Lin Upsets Kong Linghui in ITTF Men's World Cup

In an all Chinese affair, world number two paddler Ma Lin trounced Olympic and world champion Kong Linghui 4:1 in a group B match of the 2002 ITTF Men's World Cup Thursday in Jinan.

Ma, World Cup winner in 2000, dominated the game for most of the time, beating sixth-ranked Kong 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 in 40 minutes.

Only five days ago in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Ma and Kong took the doubles title at the Dutch Open after they claimed the pair victory in the German Open in Magdeburg a week earlier.

Ma, singles titlist in Germany, said:"I am not fully prepared for the tournament because the injury on my right foot is still hurting."

The 27-year-old Kong also suffers from the shoulder injury which has hampered him since the Busan Asian Games in early October.

Kong said:"I could not give full strength in the forehand strikes. I did not have time to see the doctor and to have a rest."

"However, this is not the excuse to lose to Ma. He played better than me today and is better in daily practice. If I win the next two group matches, I can still advance into the quarter-finals," Kong said.

Kong will play Hugo Hoyama of Brazil and veteran Kim Teak-soo of South Korea tomorrow.

Another Chinese star Wang Liqin, top-ranked player in the world, stormed past Oceanian champion Russell Lavale of Australia 4:0 and knocked off Chinese Taipei's Chuan Chin-Yuan 4:1 (11-9, 3-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-3) in Group A matches.

Chuan, who outpowered Kong in the semifinals before losing to Wang in the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, is tipped the biggest threat to the all-conquering Chinese paddlers as he stopped Kong and Ma in the Dutch Open but faded in the final again to Chinese defender Wang Hao.

The 20-year-old said:"I was impatient since this is my first match. I believe I can regain my form in the next group matches. Wang is the world No.1 while I am the 10th, I have nothing to lose."

Chuan came to the World Cup only after the defending champion Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus decided last week to quit the event due to congested schedule.

In other actions, Austria's Werner Schlager, world No.4, won two matches in Group D as he romped over Segun Toriola of Nigeria 4:0 and Kalinikos Kreanga of Greece 4:1 while European champion Timo Boll of Germany topped Group C after he crushed Huang Johnny of Canada 4:1 and Jean-Michel Saive of Belgium 4:1.

Sixteen players in the World Cup are divided into four groups and required to play round-robin with best-of-seven in the group matches.

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