China Wins Mixed Doubles in Asian Table TennisWith its top players staying at home, China failed to prove its domination in table tennis on May 7 as its players won only one out of the three doubles finals in the Asian Table Tennis tournament which opened Doha last Wednesday.In the mixed doubles final, which was followed by the women's and men's doubles finals, China's Yan Sen, world No. 22 men player, and Yang Ying, who is ranked the 11th in women's world list, had almost lost the match to South Korea's Kim Taek Soo and Lee Eun Sil before they staged a comeback in the last moment to collect the gold medal. The two pairs finished their first two sets in a draw. But a 20-18 advantage in Korea's favor in the third set offered the Chinese duo no choice but fighting decisively. The Chinese players were lucky enough to score four straight points to defeat their Korean counterparts 22-20 in the last set. But South Korea actually secured the women's doubles title after its two pairs -- Ryu Ji Hye, world No. 6, and Kim Moo Kyo, world No. 30, and Lee Eun Sil and Suk Eun Mi-- eliminated in the semifinals respectively China's Yang Ying and Sun Jin, and Song Ah Sim and Kwok Fong Fong of Hong Kong, China. Lee Eun Sil and Suk Eun Mi beat Ryu and Kim 2-1 to retain the gold medal for South Korea. Chiang Peng-Lung and Chang Yuan-Su from Chinese Taipei proved themselves the best men's duo in this tournament after they took an easy victory in the doubles final against Cheung Yuk and Leung Chu Yan of Hong Kong, China. Men's and women's singles finals, the last two events of the championships, are scheduled on Monday evening before the closing of the six-day Asian tournament. |
| Please visit People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |