World Champion Wang Nan Eyes on Athens Olympics

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, May 27, 2003

World Champion Wang Nan Eyes on Athens Olympics

Wang Nan, fresh from her splendid glory at the 47th world table tennis championships in Paris, has had her eyes on next year's Athens Olympic Games.

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Wang Nan, fresh from her splendid glory at the 47th world table tennis championships in Paris, has had her eyes on next year's Athens Olympic Games.

"Before the worlds I didn't expect myself to win all three events which I compete in," Wang told reporters upon her arrival in Beijing Tuesday morning.

Wang Nan, winner at Osaka in 2001 and Eindhoven in 1999, defeated compatriot Zhang Yining to win her third straight women's singles title in Paris.

The 24-year-old left-hander also bagged the gold medals of women's doubles and mixed doubles, pairing up with Zhang and Ma Lin respectively.

"I've been through too much," Wang said, referring to her waterloo defeats in last October's Asian Games, where she conceded two matches in China's team final loss to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and yielded the singles crown to Zhang.

"With helps of coaches and teammates, I've walked out of the shadow," she said with a smile.

With a total of 14 golds on the international scene under her belt, Wang is often compared with former world champion Deng Yaping.

"She (Deng) is better than me," Wang said modestly. "At least she has more Olympic gold medals than I.

"So my next goal is to win at the Athens Olympics."

Deng, 30, won both women's singles and doubles titles at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics before she retired in 1997.

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