Chinese Coach Says Kong Loses for Lack of Boldness

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 26, 2003

Chinese Coach Says Kong Loses for Lack of Boldness

Chinese players have paid price for being not daring enough in big matches of the 47th world championships, said Chinese men's singles coach Yin Xiao here on Sunday.

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Chinese players have paid price for being not daring enough in big matches of the 47th world championships, said Chinese men's singles coach Yin Xiao here on Sunday.

His remarks came after Austrian Werner Schlager outlasted Olympic champion Kong Linghui of China 4-3 in a pulsating semifinal match here.

After the other two top Chinese players Ma Lin and Wang Liqin crashed out at quarterfinals on Saturday, Kong's loss meant that the men's singles title which China coveted most has slipped beyond their reach.

"In the last big matches involving Chinese players, we were not daring enough, while foreign players appeared more relaxed.

"We did not play aggressively when we should, it made difference," he added.

He said that though China has done a lot to adjust to the new 11-point scoring system, but they fall short of having clear advantages.

"We've made some progress in adapting to the new system, but weare yet to gain initiative," he said.

He stressed that in order to have an edge over others under thenew scoring format, it is not enough to have only advanced skills.

"We have advanced skills, but we are not daring as other foreign players. We put ourselves under pressure, which made us liable to mistakes in making decisions."

Yin said Schalger played better because he had nothing to lose after having escaped elimination in yesterday's match against WangLiqin.

But Kong had to carry the last hope for China to claim the goldof the golds at the world championships.

When Kong served at 11:11 in the deciding set, he chose to serve a near-net high ball which Schalger easily cashed in on to score.

"This service was a deadly mistake," Yin said.

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