A new star was on the rise when the world's top players were defeated at the table tennis competition of the Chinese City Games.

 

Chengdu's Ding Ning, 17, continued her surprise ascent late Friday, beating world runner-up Li Xiaoxia 4-2 in the women's singles final.

 

"I believe everything is possible on the court," said an excited Ding after winning the gold. "I lost in most of my previous encounters against Li, so I had nothing to lose in the final."

 

"Tonight I felt great when playing before a big audience and my dream is to play at the Olympic Games in the future," said Ding.

 

She made her world championships debut in May this year but was stopped in the last 16 in the mixed doubles event.

 

Meanwhile, world No. 4 Li, who only lost to second-ranked Guo Yue in last May's worlds, ascribed the failure to her overeagerness to win, saying she had been desperate for a gold medal.

 

"More haste, less speed," said Li, adding that she was too nervous to cope with Ding's serves, which were so stunning.

 

On the pervious day, Ding eased past world champion Guo 4-1 in the semifinals, making the biggest upset of the day.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2007)