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Kong Shows Samsonov Who Is Best
Chinese Kong Linghui, who dethroned Vladimir Samsonov as the world's top-ranked table tennis player early this month, blanked the lanky Belorussian in Helongjiang's 3-1 win over Borussia Dusseldorf in the quarter- finals of the World Club Championship here on Friday.
Kong, 1995 world champion, showed his flair and form as he nipped former European champion 21-16, 21-18 in 20 minutes after Japanese Koji Matsushita pulled one point back in the third game.
Helongjiang, coached by Kong's father Kong Xiangzhi, is the winner of the Chinese Super League while Dusseldorf has added the European club championship to its German league title.
Kong Linghui said that Samsonov didn't play to his best today but he remained a major threat to Chinese in the Olympic Games this summer.
"He couldn't adapt himself to hot and humid weather and didn't show his killing instinct," said Kong.
Kong put Helongjiang in lead as he clinched the opening game against former World Cup holder Jorg Rosskopf of Germany, 21-5, 21- 17.
Yan Sen played an attacking game to upset Samsonov 21-17, 20-22, 21-19 in the second set, but Koji, arguably the best defensive player in the world, downed China's under-21 national champion Hou Yingchao 21-15, 14-21, 21-15.
Samsonov, a first round casualty in the European championships late last month, could not reverse his bad form as he fell a victim to the Chinese whom the Belorussian had beaten many times.
"It was my last game for Dusseldorf," said Samsonov. "I will join Belgian club Royal Charleroi next season."
Samsonov also said he would marry his childhood sweetheart on July 1. Helongjiang will clash with defending world club champion Chinese Army for a final berth on Saturday.
The Chinese Army, led by Olympic champion Liu Guoliang who has been cleared of doping suspicions last month, whitewashed Royal Charleroi 3-0 in the quarters.
Liu failed in a doping check last August in the world championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, but he was cleared by the International Table Tennis Federation after the follow-up tests proved the previous positive result was caused by Liu's dysfunctioned metabolism.
Liu nipped Belgian number one Jean-Michel Saive 21-15, 21-17 at the first game and Liu Guozheng edged Croatia's two-time World Cup winner Zoran Primorac 21-6, 11-21, 21-19 in the second.
Wang Tao was good enough to beat Canadian Johnny Huang 21-10, 21-19 although the Chinese colonel looked slow and made quite a few errors.
South Korea's Daewoo Securities, spearheaded by Kim Taek Soo, ousted Swedish champion Adleranz 3-0 to make the semi-finals. Joo Se Hyuk played a chop-and-attack game to outlast Swedish star Jan-Ove Waldner 21-16, 15-21, 21-18.
Waldner, who and Liu Guoliang are the only two players to have won a "Grand Slam" of Olympic, world championships and World Cup singles titles, virtually broke down in the final minutes of the deciding set as the 20-year-old South Korean kept attacking right after serving.
Kim Taek Soo, tipped as the best penhold topspin player in the world, routed less known Magnus Wahlgren of Sweden 21-17, 21-12, before Kim Song Hui overcame Park Sang Joon of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 17-21, 21-18, 21-17.
Daewoo Securities will take on SVS Niederosterreich of Austria, which reached the last four with a 3-0 victory over French champion Levallois.
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