Olympic Champion Wang Nan Eases into Grand Finals Second RoundSydney Olympic dual champion Wang Nan eased into the second round of the Pro Tour Grand finals table tennis tournament in Yokohama, Japan on Thursday with her first victory using a new large ball.The Chinese top seed beat Lee Eun-Sil of South Korea 21-19, 21-16, 21-17 in the women's singles. The International Table Tennis Federation, which used a 38-millimetre ball until the Olympics, introduced a 40mm ball from October. The men's top seed Wi Liqin, also from China, eliminated Chuan Chi-yuan of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-8, 21-13. Atlanta Olympic champion Liu Guoliang outclassed Japan's Koji Matsushita 13-21, 21-17, 21-17, 21-12, while Sydney Olympic champion Kong Linghui smashed aside Jorg Rosskopf of Germany 21-13, 23-21, 21-17. In Friday's quarter-finals, Liu will take on his teammate Ma Lin, the World Cup holder, who outgunned Zoran Primorac of Croatia 21-17, 21-16, 21-14. Kong will meet Chiang Peng-lung of Chinese Taipei, the winner over Jean-Michel Saive of Belgium 14-21, 21-18, 21-18, 21-15, while Wang will face Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus who defeated Asian Games champion Kim Taek-Soo of South Korea 23-21, 21-18, 21-16. Second seed Liu Guozheng brushed aside Japan's Toshio Tasaki 19-21, 21-16, 21-15, 21-14, and Werner Schlager of Austria shocked last local hope, Japanese national champion Seiko Iseki, 21-18, 21-11, 21-11. In the women's actions, Olympic silver medallist Li Ju gunned down Kim Moo-Kyo of South Korea 21-16, 21-8, 21-16 to set up an all-Chinese match against Zhang Yining. Zhang was an easy winner over Japan's An Konishi 21-11, 21-13, 21-17. |
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