Dubai: China helped itself to both the men's and women's titles with emphatic 3-0 wins against South Korea and Singapore respectively at the World Table Tennis Cup Classic that concluded at Al Nasr Club Friday.
Shaikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum, Chairman, Board of Directors, Al Nasr Club presented the winner's trophy to the victorious teams in the presence of Adham Sharara, President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF); Khalil Al Mohannadi, President, Qatar Table Tennis Association; Mohammad Al Mahtooq, President, Kuwait Table Tennis Association; Daoud Al Hajiri, President, UAE Tennis Association and other senior officials.
In the end, it was Kim Taek-soo the South Korean coach who best summed up the Chinese domination in this sport. "Everybody knew what we up against in the final. I doubt we had a chance against them [China]. They came here confident of winning," Taek-soo said.
Prize money
The winning teams each received $53,000 (Dhs195,000), while the two runners-up got $26,500 (Dhs97,000). The losing finalists each got $13,250 (Dhs49,000).
Gold medal winners at the Beijing Olympics two years ago, the Chinese women had slipped a bit earlier this summer after losing to Singapore at the World TT Championships held in Moscow.
But yesterday they announced their comeback to the top of the sport as they made their victory so easy before a holiday crowd.
The 22-year-old Guo Yue — the world champion in 2007 at the Zagreb World Championships — won her opening match in straight sets 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 against an in-form Wang Yuego. She later teamed up with good friend Li Xiaoxia to beat the Singaporean combination of Li Jiawei and Wang 11-2, 11-2, 11-9 to complete the domination.
In the second singles, Yue's team-mate Guo Yan took her time to settle in before going on to secure a 10-12, 11-4, 12-10, 12-10 win over Feng Tianwei to make it 2-0 in favour of the world champions.
Pressure was off
In the doubles, Yue combined with her friend Li Xiaoxia to walk away to a 11-2, 11-2, 11-9 win against the Singaporean pair of Wang and Li Jiawei. "That win in the first match took away a lot of pressure," admitted Yue.
"I think we had done a lot of planning for this match against Singapore. We had even planned what we would do if the referee's decisions went against us."
Singapore's Li Jiawei admitted she was nervous. "I have set myself certain goals, and now I want to go to the next stage and see what we can do at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi," Li Jiawei said.
In the men's competition later in the evening, China carried forward the tempo set by their women's team with an equally one-sided 3-0 win against Korea. Wang Hao powered his way to a 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 win against Jung Young-sik, while crowd favourite Ma Long worked his way to a 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5 win against Lee Jung-woo in the second singles.
The doubles pair of Xi Xin and Ma Long then shrugged off a one-set deficit to win 1-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 against the Korean pair Oh Sang-eun and Lee Jung-woo.
(Women's) China bt Singapore 3-0: Guo Yue bt Wang Yuegu 11-8, 11-7, 11-9; Guo Yan bt Feng Tianwei 10-12, 11-4, 12-10, 12-10; Li Xiaoxia/Guo Yue bt Li Jiawei/Wang Yuegu 11-2, 11-2, 11-9.
(Men's) China bt South Korea 3-0: Wang Hao bt Jung Young-sik 11-4, 11-8, 11-5; Ma Long bt Lee Jung-woo 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5; Xu Xin/Ma Long bt Oh Sang-eun/Lee Jung-woo 1-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.
