The two players, currently ranked No 1 on the ITTF World Rankings won the men's and women's singles titles respectively at the inaugural ITTF Tournament of Champions in Changsha, China. On Wednesday, Zhang Yining clinched the women's singles title and one day later, her Chinese national team colleague, Wang Liqin, was crowned men's singles champion.

In the final Wang Liqin beat Ma Lin in six games - 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 4-11, 11-4, 11-3.

Having lost one week earlier at the quarter-final stage of the Men's Singles event at the Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals, Wang Liqin was back to approaching his very best form in Changsha. And one man with a very special interest in his performance, watched the proceedings closely.

The man was Shen Yimin, Wang Liqin's former coach in the Zha Bei District, in the north of Shanghai.

He spoke to Jennifer Fu, the ITTF Chinese website manager. "Wang Liqin's performance in both the semi-final and final was very good," said Shen. "I thought the final was top-level table-tennis, Wang Liqin showed great skills, there were tremendous rallies and the spectators enjoyed what they saw.

"They saw the two highest ranked players in the world in action I am really pleased to be here," continued Shen. "It has been a great privilege."

Meanwhile, for Wang it was a return to the top step of the medal podium, after having missed that exalted position in both the Liebherr Men's World Cup and the Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals.

"I think the final was my best match of the tournament; in both the semi-final and in the final I felt in good shape," said Wang. "I lost to Wang Hao last week in Hong Kong, I learnt from that, I made more changes today in my play and tried to avoid mistakes."

Fewer errors

The errors from Wang's racket became fewer as the tournament progressed and there was a noticeable determination to succeed.

"I tried to put myself in the position of not being the No 1 ranked player in the world but in a situation where I must fight," continued Wang Liqin. "Against Wang Hao, I was two games to nil down and I came back to win. That helped my confidence and showed that my form was good."

For Wang Liqin, it was a good ending to 2006 and the reigning Men's Singles World champion was certainly pleased with the conclusion to the year.

"I missed the Asian Games and in tournaments I've had some good results and some not-so-good ones," explained Wang Liqin. "Notably, I didn't do that well in the Liebherr Men's World Cup nor in the Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals, so it is good to finish the year on a winning note."

A third place in the Liebherr Men's World Cup and a quarter-final place in the men's singles event at the Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals would be seen by many as good success; however, for Wang Liqin it was below par performance.

"Winning today, I feel it's a great achievement," said Wang Liqin. "Even when I was losing I believed I could win. I think now I'm more mature mentally."

These should serve as chilling words for the rest of the table tennis world. In 2007 in Zagreb he will defend his men's singles title at the Liebherr World Championships. It seem that preparations are very much on course.

(China Daily December 23, 2006)