Ping-pong Clubs Aims to Keep Title at Home

Two Chinese ping-pong clubs started their efforts to keep an inaugural club contest title at home on Saturday when both won their opening matches in the first World Women's Table Tennis Club Championships held in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province.

Wuxi Shanhe club, which has world No 2 Li Ju and No 7 Yang Ying, beat the Austrian club 3-1 while Liaoning Bengang, fielding world No 1 Wang Nan, sealed a 3-2 hard-fought win over Statisztika PSC from Hungary, lead by No 11 Tamara Boros.

Two South Koreans had different fortunes.

World No 9 Ryu Ji-hye headed Samsung Insurance to rout Egyptian club 3-0, but Hyundai Department Store club lost to Copytron from Singapore 1-3.

Eight clubs from Asia, Europe and Africa have registered to participate in the four day event. World top female players, including eight from the world top 30, joined the event.

Organized by the Chinese Table Tennis Association, the game is divided into two phases. Every match features the three out of five format.

The total bonus for the first women's tournament is US$94,000. And the title earner will pocket US$25,000.

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