China reach final for dream duel with Germany
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E-mail Xinhua, April 1, 2012
The Chinese men confirmed their top seed status by progressing to the final of the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund on Saturday.
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Ma Long beat South Korea's Oh Sang Eun 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 12-10) in the opening game. [Sina.com.cn] |
China overwhelmed South Korea 3-0. World number one Ma Long beat Oh Sang Eun 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 12-10), Wang Hao defeated Ryu Seung Min 3-1 (4-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8), while reigning individual champion Zhang Jike was too strong for Kim Min Seok (8-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-2).
"I would have been very satisfied with a 3-2 result as well, but we won 3-0," China coach Liu Guoliang said. "So I think that my players performed really well."
China will meet second seeded Germany in the final. The hosts defeated Japan 3-1 earlier on Saturday. The final is a repeat of the World Championships final of two years ago in Moscow when China beat Germany 3-1.
"This is the final many people hoped for and expected for a long time," Liu said. "Dortmund is a place that brought both of us two countries sweet memories. In 1959 Chinese player Rong Guotuan won the first world title ever for China and in 1989 Germany got their only world title in the men's doubles. So this will be a historic match. The German team is really strong. Especially because there will be more than 10,000 fans behind them. It will be very tough."
"We did it, but we must stay motivated," German star Timo Boll said after his match. "The really big goal is not accomplished yet. I hope for a final against China, it will be a big final. The world title is worth more after beating China."
The women's final will also be the same as last time, between top seeded China and second seeded Singapore. China defeated Hong Kong 3-1 in the semifinals and Singapore let South Korea behind 3-2. Two years ago in Moscow Singapore shocked the table tennis world by beating China 3-1 in the final.
"I noticed that the Singapore team entered the final twice with a 3-2 score," said China coach Shi Zhihao. "But no matter how tough their games were, they won in the end. That is a good proof of their ability. They are defending champions while we are fighting for the title."
Singapore coach Zhou Shusen was not optimistic: "I think that we have only one percent hope to beat the Chinese team in the final, but we will try one hundred percent."
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