FEATURE. May 23-30, 2010 Moscow, Russia. By Tim Boggan

Transcription

1 May 23-30, 2010 Moscow, Russia By Tim Boggan Liebherr 2010 World Team Championship: (Men s Events) Well, here we are at the Moscow Olympiysky a venue, largest in Europe, built for the Moscow Olympics, and now the May site of Russia s first World Table Tennis Championships. In front of me are the six premier courts that are about to feature First Stage round robin play among the four First Division Men s Groups of six teams each (A,B, C, D) those being the 24 teams theoretically in contention for the title. Other Division Groups E, F, G, H, for example, in which the U.S. #41-ranked men compete for positions #24-#48 will play on 28 tables in another section of the venue. There are also 32 practice/warm-up tables easily accessible to the players. As the many multi-colored flags hanging far above the courts suggest, there are (though Large Photo by Linda Hsing (Stefan Feth coaching Michael Landers), Small Photos courtesy of the ITTF - Photos by Remy Gros (Ma Lin, Timo Bol, Xu Xin) counts vary) at least 110 different countries and over 400 men in this competition. To try their best to win match after match, advance to Second Stage single elimination contention and do well, players will have to have a lot of balls an estimated 5,000 of them. So, Umpires, got your badges on? Then let s play! Championship Division: First Stage Round Robins Someone estimated there d be as many as 850 team matches contested here at the Olympivsky, and I ve decided I m not going to cover them all. The Men s Championship Division, particularly those teams continuing to compete for the title, is generally what I m concerned with. Group A. Who gets to start against China? France. But that s fine with French veteran Christophe Legout, whom you might remember from the final of our 1998 U.S. Open where, before losing, he led Belgium s Jean- Michel Saive, 2-1 and was at 24-all in the fourth in what, had he won it, would have been the deciding game. Legout pointed out that teams initially needed to get used to the tables, the multi-layered Gerflor-covered floor, and so, though he and his teammates couldn t begin to acclimate to the Chinese (who d be 5-0/15-0 in First Stage round robin ply), this wasn t a wasted tie. Indeed, the warm-up seemed to have served France well, for they immediately went on to beat Italy in three 3-2 matches though it would turn out to be a pyrrhic victory since Italy would be winless in the round robin. France also zapped Greece. Unfortunately for all three teams, at round robin s end they could no longer theoretically contend for the Championship. Only the top three finishing teams from each Group could play single elimination matches for positions 1 through 12 with the Group s top finishing team receiving a bye in the eighth s. Italy (6th), Greece (5th), and France (4th) would vie for positions 13 through 24. Greece, seeded #10 but playing without (why?) their flamboyant world #23 Kalinikos Kreanga, was at the center of the swing matches. In their start-off tie, they fell 3-2 to #17 seed Poland when World #39 Panagiotis Gionis couldn t get any help from his teammates. But then they upset 7th seeded Russia with long-pips defender Gionis scoring a climactic 11-9-in-the-fifth win over Russian Team Captain Feodor Kuzman, then following with a blitz of world #27 Alexey SMIR-nov! And this time Gionis got an assist Dimitrios Papadimitriou came through in the fifth match to down Kuzman. When you re 2-2 in the fifth, said Captain Kuzman, you never decide anything your nerves take over. Especially when you re playing before an expectant home crowd that s trying with horn hoots and chants to root you on ( Go Team, Go! I actually heard in English from Russian enthusiasts). In a last-round tie, it was Russia (2-2) vs. Poland (3-1), both of whom had beaten France 3-1. Poland, undefeated except for its loss to China, got a momentary scare from Russia whom they could take only a single game from. Now if Greece defeated France in their finale, there would be a three-way 3-2 tie and Poland, lookin so good, suddenly would be out. But that didn t happen France stopped Greece, 3-0, and so Russia (second) and Poland (third) advanced as Top 12 teams. By finishing (2-3) fourth with a tie-breaking head-to-head win over Greece (2-3), France, like the other #4 finishers, would have a bye to the quarter s in the single elimination play to follow. No surprise that the Republic of Korea (South Korea) went their undefeated way in Group B. Or that, after getting by Ukraine, 3-2, in their first tie, #8 seed Sweden would down #9 seed Chinese Taipei, 3-2, and so finish second in the Group. Par Gerell, ranked among the Top 50 players in the world, and yet a straight-game loser in the latest Swedish National s to ageless Champion Jan-Ove Waldner, won two against Ukraine. And Jens Lundqvist, said by some to have the hardest-hitting forehand in Europe, added the clincher Against Taipei, the Swedes scored with a group effort: Lundqvist, on winning a key fourth game, prevailed over Wu Chih- Yuan in five; Robert Svensson, after losing the first, found the going 5, 5 easy on taking the second; and Gerell, capitalizing on a 12-10, 11-9 start, ended the tie with a victory in the fourth. Someone told me the Swedes no longer had the work ethic they used to have but here they were at least remembering how to win. As for Romania, having lost a 3-2 tie with Ukraine, they would lose another to the Swedes, and so finish (0-5) sixth. Ukraine (fifth) went down docilely to the Czech Republic, but fell with a crash to Chinese Taipei when Wu Chih-Chi held strong in the fifth against Kou Lei. On the last day of the round robin matches, the Czech Republic advanced into paper contention by coming third in the Group over Taipei. Chen Chien-An opened with a two-down rally to snatch victory from Dimitrij Prokopcov. But then strangely Josef Simoncik engineered a like turnaround against (World #16) Chuang Chih-Yuan (the Taipei Coach,. I heard, is Chuang s mother). Prokopcov lost another; Simoncik won another. The Czech third, Jiri Vrablik, made the difference he won in four over Wu. Everyone knew that in Group C Germany and Japan would eventually battle it out for first and second. Question was: who d come third? It wouldn t be Croatia 0-4 coming into the last round. And it wouldn t be Denmark, not with MEN S TEAM RESULTS 1 CHINA 2 GERMANY 3 JAPAN 3 KOREA REPUBLIC 5 HONG KONG 6 RUSSIA 7 BELARUS 8 HUNGARY 9 CZECH REPUBLIC 10 AUSTRIA 11 SWEDEN 12 POLAND 13 KOREA DPR 14 PORTUGAL 15 SPAIN 16 SINGAPORE 17 CHINESE TAIPEI 18 CROATIA. 19 FRANCE 20 GREECE 21 UKRAINE 22 ROMANIA 23 DENMARK 24 ITALY 25 SERBIA 26 SLOVENIA 27 SLOVAK REPUBLIC 28 BELGIUM 29 INDIA 30 BRAZIL 31 NIGERIA 32 TURKEY 33 EGYPT 34 BULGARIA 35 IRAN 36 ARGENTINA 37 VIETNAM 38 ENGLAND 39 SCOTLAND 40 NORWAY 41 ISRAEL 42 LUXEMBOURG 43 LATVIA 44 THAILAND 45 BOSNIA-HERZE 46 USA 47 CANADA 48 NETHERLANDS 49 FINLAND 50 AUSTRALIA 51 CONGO BRAZ 52 INDONESIA 53 DOMINICAN REP 54 VENEZUELA 55 ECUADOR 56 SAUDI ARABIA 57 MEXICO 58 COLOMBIA 59 QATAR 60 CYPRUS 61 ESTONIA 62 SOUTH AFRICA 63 SWITZERLAND 64 IRELAND 65 MALAYSIA 66 LITHUANIA 67 ALGERIA 68 PHILIPPINES 69 IRAQ 70 MOLDOVA 71 SRI LANKA 72 UZBEKISTAN 73 PARAGUAY 74 MONTENEGRO 75 BAHRAIN 76 KAZAKHSTAN 77 NEW ZEALAND... etc USA USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug 2010 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug

2 European Champion Michael Maze injured and so playing only one match total in the round robin. Maze, they say, is making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and has now signed to play in a Russian league The one match he played here he won helping his fellow Danes, the no longer retired Allan Bentsen, and Finn Tugwell, to defeat Hungary, 3-2. It would be Denmark s only win, so, after losing to Croatia, they would finish sixth to Croatia s fifth. That left Spain and Hungary to engage for third. Spain s Carlos Machado (World #58) opened with an 11-9-in-thefifth pulse-beater over Daniel Kosiba who d won two for Hungary against the Danes and in the last year had risen meteorically from World #232 to World #79. Hungary s World #69 Janos Jakab was too good for Spain s World #200 Marc Duran. And Jakab s teammate, Ferenc Pazsy, who years ago played at our Baltimore Team s, was too good for Jesus Cantero ( No, said Jesus, I don t like the hotel s buffet food, but that s o.k., I m trying to lose weight ). Down 2-1, Spain clawed back, stayed alive with Machado s in-the-fifth win over Jakab. But Duran, a considerable underdog to Kosiba, though up 2-1 in games, couldn t hold on to his advantage. Kosiba, someone said, is Hungary s present-day Gabor Gergely he who, with the Coach s blessing (35 or more years ago it was Zoltan Berczik s blessing), always plays the #5 position in a tie. Against Germany, Japan was armed with a yellow-shirted group of supporters directed into a rhythmic balloon-beating by a bandana-bound cheerleader. Japan s 2009 Korea Cup Open Champion Jun Mizutani did his best downing World #13 Dimitrij Dimi Ovtcharov, and outlasting Timo Boll 11-9 in the fifth. But World #20 Kaii Yoshida, in spite of a 2-0 lead, couldn t bring home the needed win against the increasingly spirited play of World #21 Christian Suss. When World #28 Seiya Ishikawa understandably failed to produce a winner against Europe s best, Boll, or, down 2-1, win from 10-all in the 4th against Ovtcharov, Japan succumbed. In Group D, unlike the Singapore women, the Singapore men couldn t muster much of a challenge. They could beat only North Korea who could beat only Belarus when their #3, Ri Choi Guk, somehow upset World #8, Vladimir Vladi Samsonov, allowing him only nine points the last two games. Top 3 advancement for Belarus didn t look likely, for they d also lost their opening match to Austria, 3-2. The aging Vitaly Nekhvedovich had an-anything-butvital finish in his two losing matches, and his teammate Pavel Platonov, up 1-0 and at 12-all in the second, couldn t close against 2008 U.S. Open Champ Chen Weixing. Portugal was showing power, and guts, with their two opening 3-2 wins. First, over North Korea when Tiego Apolonia survived chopper Jang Song Man, in the fifth, and Hungarianborn Marcos Freitas, former European Youth Champion, took two, winning the deciding fourth against Kim Hyok Bong, Since you rarely see the North Koreans at tournaments, one wonders how their best manage to stay in the Top 75. (By getting practice on the sly from the Chinese?). Kim did win the 2009 Pyongyang International, but it was really pretty much the Pyongyang Closed. Against Austria, Apolonia stopped former World Champion Werner Schlager, preoccupied now with his 40-table Academy outside Vienna, and rallied from 2-0 down to defeat World # 35 Robert Gardos. Freitas, in the last match, made it a real bad day for Gardos, outlasting him in the fifth. But Portugal then suffered a closematch reversal against Hong Kong. Apolonia, determined as ever, though down 2-0 against Li Ching, fought tenaciously to win the fourth 13-11, only to fall in the fifth. But Freitas won a pivotal third game and the match from Cheung Yuk. After a recently injured Joao Monteiro, the Portuguese #1, lost a five-gamer to China import Jiang Tianyi, Portugal balanced again with another gritty win from Apolonia, in the fourth over Cheung. However, Portugal couldn t keep winning all the close ones Freitas went down to Li, losing two games. So coming into the fourth day of play, when Austria suffered its second loss to Hong Kong not only Hong Kong but Portugal would advance to single elimination play, right? But suddenly Belarus became a factor, for this time Portugal didn t win any match-turning tight games, and when Monteiro was beaten in the fourth, Belarus had won three-zip. That put them at 2-2, as opposed to Portugal and Austria s 3-2. So long as Belarus didn t defeat undefeated Hong Kong in the last tie, Portugal with a head-to-head tie-breaker win over Austria, would finish second, its clutch play rewarded. But if Belarus should win.both teams couldn t have been more serious, for positions 2-3 were at stake. The big swing for Belarus came in the second match when Evgueni Chtchetinine, 40 years old, 7, 9, -9, -10, 9 didn t falter under Ko Lai Chak s increasing pressure. When Samsonov won his second match of the tie, in the fourth against Ko, Belarus had vaulted into second place, with Austria third and a very disappointed Portugal fourth. Teams Finishing in 13th through 24th Place Here are the final positions of those Men s Championship Division teams no longer in contention for the title. #13 North Korea; #14 Portugal; #15 Spain; #16 Singapore; #17 Chinese Taipei; #18 Croatia; #19 France; #20 Greece; #21 Ukraine; #22 Romania; #23 Denmark; #24 Italy. USA Team Results Of course it s important at the outset for readers to understand that in the opening round robin matches, with three members of the USA Team experiencing their first World s, and two of the three quite young, we, the #41-ranked team, were not expected to be much of a factor and weren t. Three teams zeroed in on us swept us clean as the Moscow streets. Serbia (#26-ranked, they were led by three-time U.S. Open Champion Aleksandar Karakasevic and 2009 Belarus Open Champion Pete Zolt). Nigeria (#32-ranked; their World #227, Monday Merotohun (he was born on a Monday?), defeated our #5 Niraj Oak, the current U.S. Over 40 Champion, but so what Niraj couldn t be happier that his daughter Anushka, his business associates, were making so much of his coming here. Also beating us 3-0 was Turkey (#34-ranked, they fielded players who certainly weren t turkeys and who had more-chinese-than-turkishsounding names, Vang, Zeng, and Jiang. Here young Peter Li made his presence known, taking a game from Bora Vang. Downing USA 3-1 was the #39-ranked Netherlands team. Mark Hazinski (World #395), our #1, came through for us, scoring a in-the-fifth thriller over their #4 George Foerster (World #637). Actually these world rankings, the seeming distance between players, can t be taken too literally. Nope, we didn t beat lowly #48-ranked Scotland either lost to them 3-2. Their #1, Gavin Rumgay (World #237) opened with an 11-9-in-the-fourth win over Hazinski. But in the match that followed, the experienced ShaoYu kept his head and his game to weather out a -11, -9, 12, 6, 8 win over World #559 Craig Howieson. Then current U.S. Champion Michael Landers (World #885), taking his cue from Shao, also showed true grit, stayed mentally strong, and -14, 7, -8, 10, 7 rallied to down (World #723) Stewart Crawford. Rumgay was too good for Shao. But that was o.k. because Mark would prevail over Howieson, wouldn t he? No, he wouldn t. Though he had his chances including a 15-all third game in which he came up short, and a fifth that tail-spinned into a loss for Mark and the team. Scotland was better than you might think, though. At tournament s end, they were no longer a lowly #48, but, with wins over Luxembourg and Norway, had moved up to #39. In single-elimination play against Thailand, the best we could do in suffering our sixth straight loss was put up a lone win when Mark defeated (World # 348) Chaisit Chaitat. However hold on! In our penultimate tie, again with the Netherlands, we exacted 3-1 revenge for our earlier loss. But it wasn t easy. Both Michael and Mark (who won two matches) rallied from 2-0 down to secure our only team victory in the tournament. Had we then beaten Bosnia-Herzegovina (Shao alone gave us a win over World #458 Boris Ivanek), we d have finished #45, not #46. However, as it was, we avoided a final tie with Canada for #47-#48 and a possible dead-last place in the Division. (Canada beat the Netherlands to avoid that distinction.) U.S. Team Captain/Coach Stephen Feth wasn t discouraged by our understandable difficulties he was well aware they d be there. I remember telling him I was going back to the hotel, did he want to go back with me? No, he said, I m staying I want to analyze, to learn, as much as I can. We re fortunate to have such a mentor one that looks with an understanding eye to the future. Championship Division Second Stage (Single Elimination Eighth s) Belarus blanked Poland to join China in the quarter s. Platanov repelled brawny Bartosz Such s 12-all in the fourth s hopes of prolonging the tie. Japan won 3-0 over Austria, but it was a wearying struggle for all concerned. In a one for-me, one-for-you, one-forme, one-for-you almost polite exchange of not-too-close games, 21-year-old Yoshida finally did in Schlager, 11-9 in the fifth. Following that, it might have been hard to say whether Chen Weixing after sweating through an opening game, then a follow-up, against the young, energetic, and certain-not-to-be-discouraged Mizutani could have the strength to win another. As play progressed, he did not. Ishikawa then finished off Gardos, -10, 10, 8, 9. Whew! Russia was stopped from blitzing the Czech Republic in straight games only when Kuzman fell 11-9 in the fifth to Prokopcov. Sweden, after winning those three 3-2 ties in the First Stage, finally had one turn against them Hungary beat them 3-2. Jakab lost to Gerell in five, but beat Lundqvist. Lundqvist, said one observer, has high energy, but he plays 100% speed all the time hasn t enough variety in his game, doesn t use the table. The 18-year-old Kosiba, relying on a strong backhand, put on quite a show took six of seven games from Lundqvist and Gerell. No wonder Kosiba, playing in his first World s, was ecstatic. I m having the best time of my life! he said. Winning important matches will do that for you. Quarter s China over Belarus, 3-0. Ma Long and Samsonov did as much jogging tableward and bobbing at the table preparatory to playing points as they did exerting themselves in trying to score them. Ma won three straight, the last Platinov deserved the moment s Sportsmanship Award when, drawing applause, he persistently refused to take a point against Xu Xin the umpire insistently wanted him to Iin the companion quarter s, Japan defeated Hong Kong, 3-0. Hong Kong s Tang Peng, former Chinese National Champion when maybe half a dozen of the top contenders didn t play, has a point winner in his quick-snap shortpips-backhand, but had trouble with lefty Mizutani s high-toss and was blitzed. Yoshida, down 7-3 in the fifth in a match featuring play from mid-court and beyond, went on an 8-1 spree to down Cheung. The Hong Kong threat ended when Ishikawa, looking to the 2012 Olympics, stopped Jiang Tianyi, 3-0. Germany over Russia, 3-0. Boll in straight games over Kirill Skachov. But Ovtcharov had to go five with former European Champion Smirnov; Suss five with Kuzman. In the fifth, after Ovtcharov had backhanded in Smirnov s serve to go up 9-7, Smirnov twice failed to return serve. In the fifth, with Suss and Kuzman at five-all, Suss ran it out. In the companion quarter s, it was South Korea over Hungary, 3-1. Joo Se Hyuk opened with an 11-1 win over Jakab, but then lost the second, and was at 10-all in the third before going on to win. Kosiba and Oh played a mutually bad first game taken with a backhand-return-of-serve winner by the rising young Hungarian. After that, the 33-year-old Oh continued to be firstclass awful. Pazsy was treated to a 5-0/7-2 start by 2004 Olympic Champion Ryu, then returned the favor by losing nine straight. In the second, at 10-all, Pazsy surprised the Korean, acing him with a service return that enabled him to go on and tie the match. But Ryu righted himself in the third, and at 10-all in the fourth made a great counter that in a moment allowed him to win the match. Oh then played appreciably better to down Jakab. Positions Five through Twelve Time now for the final positions of those teams that didn t make the semi s: 5. Hong Kong. 6. Russia. Before the tournament, Russia replaced their Croatian coach with a Russian one, Serge Vaslov. The official view? Coaching is not all about money. There is a very important question of devotion and love for your country, and your job, the feeling of trust and common vision. Here in the Kosmos Hotel all the players and coaches are together, having constant meetings, sticking together to talk about tactics and analyze the opponents. That hasn t been done for at least four years. 7. Belarus. 8. Hungary. Jakab had said, If Hungary could come fifth, there are benefits, financial and otherwise. If seventh, the team would be able to reach the World Cup. 9. Czech Republic 10. Austria. 11. Sweden.. Somebody said it was really Sweden s B team playing here. An A team of Waldner, Persson, Carlsson (if he practiced) would be stronger. 12. Poland 14 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug 2010 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug

3 Semi s First semi s: China vs. Japan. Even on the side opposite the congregate of Chinese supporters waving flags and beating red balloons, there s a big China flag draped over the first row of stands. The first CHIN-a! CHIN-a! roars filling the stadium come as the players march in. The yellow-jacketed Japanese rooters are game, but overwhelmed. First up: Beijing Olympic Champion Ma Lin and (World #20) Kaii Yoshida. Ma of course can t simply stand at the table in readiness he has to squat, pedal his legs, kick up his heels, be on the move already. First point: Yoshida puts his serve return into the net. Such bothersome pressure to know Ma wants to forehand-clobber any ball from the start. As play unfolds, one brief uncontested point follows another. A terrible game; it goes to Ma, MA- LIN! CHIN-a! In the second from 5-all, Ma effortlessly rockets in a forehand counter that Yoshida can t come close to. But then Yoshida backhand pummels one into Ma s gut. A net for Yoshida brings him to 8-all. Ma tracers a series of forehands followed by a winning drop. But his 9-8 lead doesn t hold, for young Yoshida lets loose with a fearless barrage of forehands that give him the game. In the third, Ma gets off to a start that brings his teammates up off the bench. But Yoshida hangs pretty much with him. Until, Ma, up calls Time. And now Yoshida on his return pushes Ma s serve off, then mis-serves to lose the game. That psychically turns the match into a last-game 11-2 rout for Ma. CHIN-a! CHIN-a! Another Ma s up another who wants to overpower you with his forehand 21-year-old Ma Long. He seems no stranger to Mizutani who right off shows a perfectly anticipated return of an all-out blast. Also, this Japanese, only 20 but already a repeat National Champion, can lob, lob, lob he s up 3-1. But then from 5-all, exciting the partisan audience along the way with a forehand stretch accompanied by an on-the-run backhand return to hold the attack, Ma dominates the end game. He takes the first, In the second, there s no domination, but, up 10-9, Ma forehand counters in the winner. In the third, swatting forehands, Ma s up 6-2, and Mizutani can t catch up. Ma raises a fist to CHIN-a! CHIN-a! and the throbbing red balloons Against Ishikawa, Zhang, too, shows a powerful forehand. After mis-serving in the first, with little consequence in his 11-8 win, he unexplainably does it again and not once but twice the second time to lose the second game, In the third, the Japanese has no chance, gets three points. In the fourth, again no chance until, down 10-5, seemingly a goner, Ishikawa rallies, gets to 10-8 before missing a backhand. To no one s surprise CHIN-a! is in the final. There s no play-off for the semi s losers, so Japan will come tied for third. Second semi s: Germany vs. South Korea. Boll opens against Ryu and is up 7-2. But now Ryu s forehand proves stronger than Boll s backhand, and when the German fails to return back-to-back serves, it s 7-all. Then more streaky play. Timo gets forehands in, goes up But Ryu finesses a serve return to Boll s forehand, aces him with it. Boll errs, and they re at 10-all. Boll almost gets caught on a serve to his forehand, but he gets it back, then scrambles to a pointwinner on counters, and is helped to a win by a ticked net. In the second, Boll s off to an insurmountable 8-1 lead. In the third, up 10-9, Boll finishes with a clean winner to Ryu s open forehand and almost simultaneously raises his hand in victory. Now it s Octcharov vs. Oh and, oh, what an historic occasion. The umpire is Svetlana Grinberg, Russia s 1969 World Women s Doubles Champion with Zoya Rudnova. Has a World Champion ever umpired such a serious match and 40 years after her win? More ohs when Ovtcharov is down 10-3 in the first and looks outclassed. But then there s an abrupt reversal Ovtcharov, favoring his backhand, takes the second And the third as well, running it out from 7-all, scoring his last two points by attacking Oh s forehand. In the fourth, Ovtcharov is down 10-7, three game points, deuces it, then is down 11-10, 12-11, before succumbing a feisty fight, but for him unsuccessful. In the fifth, Oh, after mis-serving, is down 4-0. But then it s 5-all, 6-all, 7-all, 8-all, whereupon Ovtcharov wins three in a row, has according to German Coach Richard Prause played his best match of the tournament and Germany needs only a win from Suss or Boll to join China in the final. Well, it won t be with Suss s help now. The temperamental German s strategy is to hit any kind of ball, low, loaded, or not, as hard as he can and, surprise, a lot of them are going in. But he finally loses the first 14-12, having contested it so primarily because Joo s pick-forehands can t find their mark. In the second, Suss is helpless, Joo s forehands are going in, his aren t. In frustration and disgust he simply gives up the game point. Nor does it get any better for him. From 5-all in the third, he s in a state, continues to lack patience, and loses six straight. Boll to the rescue? Ovtcharov in speaking to someone seeking a Press Release on the Germans came up with Timo Boll, who is one of our key players. M god, did he really think that reporter, and that reporter s audience, was so distant, so distant from him, it wouldn t matter if he weren t more explicit? We know Boll, though, and it s a foregone conclusion, is it, he ll down Oh? It would seem so. In the first, backhand or forehand, he s not missing, wins it Boll looks confident, quickoff-the-bounce strokes confidently. He wins the second Oh persists though down 10-7 in the third, he gets to 9, but of course that s not enough and Germany has joined CHIN-a! in the final. Final China Coach Liu Guoliang got his wish he d hoped that Germany would win its semi s, for it would make for a better match-up, what he called a European-Asian spectacular. Certainly Germany would like to get revenge for their loss to China in the Olympics. But could they? It wouldn t seem so. In the first, 2009 Asian Cup Champion Ma Long s forehand is stronger than 2009 Europe s Top 12 winner Boll s double-wing attack. Up 10-8 to encouraging cries of CHIN-a! Ma just misses scoring the game point with a sweeping backhand from mid-court. But Timo then delivers the win to him by missing a counter to Ma s open forehand. In the second, Boll, down 9-3, can t get into the point where maybe he d be a favorite, can t stop Ma s wind-up killer forehands. Still, he somehow draws to 8-9 before Ma gives him a 1-2 punch, first with a 10-9 forehand, then an 11-9 backhand. In the third, Timo s at that psychic precipice familiar ground no doubt ( T-BOLL! T-BOLL! ), but a 10-all misstep or two and it s all over. Ma got a forehand in alright, but Boll got it back, and Ma, rushing his follow, missed badly. Then missed again. So Boll was still standing. Up 7-5 in the fourth, Boll caught a break. Ma had the forehand advantage, but Fate favored Timo with a net. After that, Ma wasn t the same Boll ran out the game. Timo opened the fifth by serving into the net, then Ma got a net. But Boll was unfazed. Indeed, Ma doesn t seem to be playing well now, is down 7-4. He needs confidence to make those wind-up forehands, and the way the match has turned maybe he s not creating the opportunities he needs. Ma draws to 7-8, but can get no further as Boll finishes with an attacking flourish. Next up: MA-LIN! vs. Ovtcharov. THIS is the match that needs to be Ovtcharov s best of the tournament. But it s not to be though not for want of trying. In the first, from down 7-3 down 10-7, Ovtcharov got to 10-9 before Ma, ever fanning himself with his racket, freed himself from trouble with a winning forehand. The Chinese sure weren t looking invincible. In the second, Ma s up 8-6 but is out of position only he gets back into position with a backhand and follows with two forehands that earn him the point. Eventually he scores with an 11-7 thrilling counter ( CHIN-a! ). Ma is looking mighty fit he finishes the third, 8-5, 9-5, 10-5, 11-5 and the crowd erupts. Germany is stubborn though as witness Suss s 6-0 start against (World #5) Zhang. Christian ends well too, smacking in 9-7, 10-7, 11-7 winners. The second game is key: Suss is up 9-6, down Of course this five-point turnaround got the excited crowd more ( CHIN-a! CHIN-a! ) excited. In the third, up 10-7, Zhang misses the game winner, then for some reason he seems ready to swat a forehand but switches and misses a crazy backhand. But Suss errs to Zhang s fist and a mighty roar. In the 4th, Suss rallies from 7-2 down to 7-5, then makes his mistake of the tournament he mis-serves. Down 9-6, he takes a terrible swing, a kind of noheart flail, looks beaten, and is. Chinese flags wave their applause like furious hand claps. MA-LIN! MA-LIN! Would Wang Liqin have been as popular? Officially Ma was here and Wang wasn t because Ma had won their play-off match. Now against Boll in a pay-off match, he s off to a 3-0 start, is caught 3-3, jumps ahead again 6-3, then, smacking in more forehands, even stiff-arming in a backhand, he moves from 6-5 to There his spurt is halted. Down 10-8, Boll counters in a backhand. Down 10-9, he wins a counter-exchange. Now Boll serves, Ma side-swipes a return, Boll misses his follow. Ma serves, and, sinking like a limbo dancer as he strokes a forehand or two, is out-countered. Then he gets a most opportune net. At 13-all Timo mis-serves. Yet, withal this piled-on adversity, Boll ends up the opening-game winner. No such escape remains for him though. In the second, Timo s down 9-1 MA-LIN! ). In the third, with Ma continuing to hit in with abandon, the best player in Europe is down 5-0. But because he is the best player in Europe he catches Ma at 7-all. Nevertheless Ma is still swinging in winners and Boll helps him in the end game by twice failing to return service. In the fourth, Ma viciously smothered a lob, then went that shot one better with a stunner a smother of a low ball that I swear didn t seem to have time even to start its bounce from the table. No wonder as his chances begin to disappear, Boll again fails to return serve. Mentally strong as he is, he knows only too well the sheer power of the Chinese. As they celebrate their eighth vicotry in their last nine starts, who or what can stop their onslaught? 16 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug 2010 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug

4 My First World Team Championships by Erica Wu This May, I was honored to be able to participate in the World Team Championships in Moscow, Russia. The World Championships is the biggest and most important tournament other than the Olympics, and all of the world s best players were going to be there. I was eager to watch them play again. I was also excited because Moscow sounded like an interesting place to visit. Finally, I was also looking forward to having fun with the team: Gao Jun, Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang, Natalie Sun, and coach Doru Gheorghe. The tournament is divided into four divisions: the first division containing the top 24 teams, the second divisions containing the next 24 teams down, and so on. Because the U.S. did so well at the last World Team Championships, we were put into the first division. This year, however, our team was drastically different from last time. Besides Gao, all of us were relatively young and less experienced. Every other team in the first division played professionally. It would be great if we could remain in the first division, but we thought that was like Mission Impossible. Well, we just had to do our best. Our first round robin group consisted of Singapore, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic, and USA. Although we did not beat any of them, the team match against Czech was very close. We then played England in the single elimination round. If we lost, we would drop into the second division for the next World Team Championships. If we won, we would have a good chance to stay in the first division. I played, along with Ariel and Gao. I played the first match, and I played a chopper. She was so consistent that I felt like I was looping my arm off! I won the first game, but then lost two straight games. Then I was up 10-9 in the fourth. I was so nervous! If knew that if I lost, I would throw away our best chance to beat England. I would also feel really bad because our team might lose because of me. My legs were practically trembling! However, coach Doru called a time-out to let me calm down and think. It helped, and thankfully, I won the next point to tie it up, 2-2. In the fifth game I was much calmer and patient, and I won! Although I was extremely pooped by the end because on average we had at least 10 rallies for almost every ball, I was so happy that I won. Then Gao won two matches to beat England! The next day we played Italy. If we won, we would stay in the first division. This time, Ariel, Natalie and Gao played. Ariel played really well and won her match, and we were all super happy because we assumed that Gao could get the next two matches very easily. The first match Gao played was simple. She won 3-0. Then, in the fifth team match, Gao was up 2-0 against her opponent and we were pretty much getting ready to celebrate. Then the Italy girl got one game. Next to me, Ariel was whispered, Nervous yet? but the rest of us were all like, oh that is ok, Gao will win the next game. Then the Italy girl won another game. It was tied, 2-2. Now are you nervous? Ariel asked, only half joking. At that point, everyone started getting a tad bit anxious, but we were all telling ourselves that it would be okay. However, when Gao was continuously down in the fifth game, we were all REALLY nervous. I looked around, and Ariel was covering her eyes, torn between wanting to watch and being afraid to. Natalie was scrunched up on her seat, clutching her own head in fear. Lily was chewing anxiously on the corner of her pass. I looked down and realized that I was digging my fingernails into my left arm. When Gao was down 7-10, although we were cheering for her as loud as we could, we thought we had lost. Then, Gao won three points in a row! It was 10-10! We were yelling and clapping as loud as we could. When Gao won the next point, she shouted, CHO! It was the first time I had ever heard her cho before. When she won the next point, all of us jumped up and were hollering and clapping together. Gao was so happy that she ran to coach Doru and gave him a big hug! We beat Italy! Mission Impossible had become Mission Accomplished! We really did remain in the first division. Besides the actual playing, the most exciting part of the whole tournament was meeting and taking pictures with everyone. Gao seemed to know everyone famous. We met and took pictures with Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning, Tie Yana, Timo Boll, and Ai Fukahara, to name a few. It was extremely exciting, meeting all of these people, because to me, they are like legends. During the finals, Chen Qi was sitting right next to me, Li Xiao Xia and Wu Yang were sitting behind me, Guo Yan was sitting next to Ariel, and Ai Fukahara and Kasumi Ishikawa were sitting about three rows behind us. It was absolutely amazing! I am really happy about our results in Moscow. Our whole team played fabulously! Gao won every match she played. Ariel won two matches and I won one. Even though Natalie and Lily did not win any matches, they also did extremely well. They both played the toughest matches. Natalie lost in the fifth game with Li Jiawei (World Ranked 32), and Lily also lost in the fifth game to Zhu Fang (World Ranked 62)! Watching the best players in the world compete was a great experience. Afterwards, I have tried to play more like them after I have come back, and I think I have improved. Except for the food (we had mashed potatoes and pasta everyday) and the fact that everything was so expensive there, I really had a great time in Russia. This has been an incredible trip, and I am looking forward to what I can do in the future! I am pleased with the results achieved by our team this year. We had a inexperienced team who built a strong team spirit with everyone working together to help one another compete at the highest level possible... With more international competitions under our belts, this will also help improve our world rankings which will become more critical in determining which division we will compete in at the World Team Championships in 2012 and participation for the 2010 and 2011 World Team Cups. -- Men s Team Coach, Stefan Feth The 2010 World Championships in Moscow was an amazing experience. I ve never seen so many highcaliber players all competing inside one enormous olympic stadium... It was great for me to be exposed to all the different kinds of styles being played. Each day upon entering the stadium, the feeling of excitement and anxiety combined into one and settled somewhere inside of me but soon disappeared as I walked onto the red flooring. -- Men s Team Member, Michael Landers 18 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug 2010 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug

5 May 23-30, 2010 Moscow, Russia By Tim Boggan Paddle Palace: North American Sole Distributor for TIBHAR With the integration of the speed glue effect into the Genius rubbers, our main focus was ball curve. The excellent adhering quality and ball arc are most noticible when playing back from the table, especially when playing topspin against topspin. Even when under pressure, it feels like you always have control of the ball. Liebherr 2010 World Team Championship: (Women s Events) A community of Nations that s what I m thinking when I see that over 80 women s teams, maybe 300 women in all, are participating here at Moscow s Olympiysky sports complex. It s a miniature world of colorful traveling players come to put on a series of performances an exciting looked-forward-to time as team after team strides in to the here-we-are-beat of the music and in a show of togetherness become a part of the pre-tie introductions. The names of the players, their coaches, their umpires are all individually called out, draw an acknowledging step forward from the participants, and, as the sportive little ceremony ends, there are handshakes all around. Now, though the niceties continue, I want to come to the win or lose nitty-gritties. I m Spin and precision for your attacking game A new definition of spin and dynamic play WOMEN S TEAM RESULTS 1 SINGAPORE 2 CHINA 3 JAPAN 3 GERMANY 5 KOREA REPUBLIC 6 HONG KONG 7 HUNGARY 8 NETHERLANDS 9 CHINESE TAIPEI 10 POLAND 11 CROATIA 12 ROMANIA 13 KOREA DPR 14 RUSSIA 15 SPAIN 16 USA 17 UKRAINE 18 BELARUS. 19 ITALY 20 SLOVAK REPUBLIC 21 ENGLAND 22 CZECH REPUBLIC 23 FRANCE 24 AUSTRIA 25 SWEDEN 26 TURKEY 27 SERBIA 28 BRAZIL Photo by Linda Hsing (Large photo: Ariel Hsing, small photos Coach Doru Gheorghe with Natalie Sun, Gao Jun, Lily Hsing). 29 THAILAND 30 DENMARK 31 MALAYSIA 32 LUXEMBOURG 33 LITHUANIA 34 COLOMBIA 35 GREECE 36 NEW ZEALAND 37 INDIA 38 EGYPT Spin and playing sensation for offensive players Playing sensation and dynamic play in any situation paddlepalace.com USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug 2010 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug

6 concerned in this article with those 24 seeded teams in the Championship Division divided initially (Stage One) into four round robin Groups of six (A, B, C, D) that have at least a theoretical and I stress theoretical chance to win the title. The top three finishing teams in each Group will go on to (Stage Two) single elimination ties to decide a Champion and the positions that follow. The remaining 12 teams in the Championship Division, as well as teams in other Divisions, will also play single elimination ties for overall finishing positions. Championship Division First Stage Round Robins The first round of the Championship Division A Group (in which China of course doesn t lose a match) finds England defeating Austria, 3-2. Austria s World #52 Li Qiangbing takes her two, but, in a team effort, England s Hannah Hicks and Kelly Sibley win close in the fourth, and Joanna Parker provides the 3, 6, 6 fifth-match clincher. The tie s significant only in that Austria (sixth finisher) won t win a round robin tie, and England (fifth finisher) won t win another. The only other 3-2 tie, Poland over Italy in the fifth round, didn t change the final standings: Poland (4-1) second; Croatia (3-2) third, Italy (2-3) fourth. However, had Italy done the seemingly impossible, win 3-0, Poland would have finished fourth via a three-way 3-2 tie-breaker. Interestingly, Italy s (World #63) Nikoleta Stefanova opened by downing Poland s (World #68) Xu Jie (1982) that 1982 (her birth date?) differentiating her from the Welsh player of the same name. And Italy s (World #93) Wenling Tan Monfardini unexpectedly blitzed Poland s (World #19) Li Qian. Thus Italy 2-Poland 0 and Italy s Debora Vivarelli up against Poland s (World #65) Natalia Partyka, the only table tennis player to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics (for she has no right arm below the elbow). Though the unknown Vivarelli was very weak, she apparently was the best third Italy could eligibly field. But Poland wasn t to worry, the what if didn t happen Partyka didn t take ill, get injured, or just not show up, and so annihilated Vivarelli, 3, 1, 5. Moreover, Li and Xu followed with wins for Poland. Finishing first in Class B as anticipated was Singapore (5-0/14)-1 when only the Czech Republic s (World #53) Iveta Vacenovska could take a match from (World #10) Wang Yuegu. Germany (4-1) finished second with a key second-round 3-2 win over the Netherlands. However, after the Netherlands (World #23) Li Jiao opened with an 11-9-in-the-fourth win over Germany s (World #43) Kristin Silbereisen, and (World #31) Li Jie upset Germany s (World #13) Jiaduo Do-Do Wu, and (World #202) Linda Creemers had rallied from down 2-0 to force Germany s (World #53) Elke Schall into the fifth, Germany sure didn t look like a winner. But Schall, not panicking but often just leisurely, patiently topspinning, waiting for an opening, stayed in control in the fifth; Wu beat Li Jiao in the 4th; and Silbereisen, down 2-0 to Li Jie, found 4, 2, 8 strength for the turnaround win. The Netherlands and Spain fought it out in the final round for third place. Spain led 2-1 after Zhu Fang upset Li Jie in straight games, and Galia Dvorak outlasted former Russian International Elena Timina, now 41. But then Spain couldn t get the needed third win. Zhu quickly fell to Li Jiao; and Shen Yanfei, who d partnered our Gao June to a Pro Tour Grand Final Doubles win in 2005, dropped the tie s opening and closing matches. The Czech Republic (1-4) finished fifth. USA (0-5) finished sixth USA Team Results Germany 3 USA 0. (World #213) Ariel Hsing did well to (-5, 5, -4, -5) take a game from Germany s #2 Silbereisen, one of the world s Top 50 players. Then Schall beat our (World # 444) challenger Natalie Sun, 9, 9, 5 (at 9-all in the first, Schall was able to loop in Sun s serve). Finishing up, Do-Do Wu scored a too consistent 4, 4, 4 victory over Lily Zhang. Spain 3 USA 0. Erica Wu, to the continued cheers of her parents ( C mon, Erica! ), took a game from (World #88) Galia Dvorak Czech Republic 3 USA 2. Uh-huh, our former World Women s Doubles Champ Gao Jun played (just to keep in practice she might be needed) and scored four-game wins over, first, Dana Hadacova, then over Vacenovska, a real fighter, one of my favorite players. Ariel gave (World #220) Katerina Penkavova such a 9, -16, -11, -9 hard time she might have been a winner, and the Team too. Natalie got -3, -5, -3 killed by former European Youth Champion Vacenovska, now playing for a Linz club in the Austrian League, but -6, -2, 7, -14 rebounded to make a match of it with (World #199) Hadacova. Netherlands 3 USA 0. We didn t win a game. Ariel was (-2, -3, -3) destroyed by Lie Ji says she can t play choppers (gotta do something about that). Singapore 3 USA 0. Natalie distinguished herself, almost pulling off a major upset was up 2-1 and at 9-all against Singapore s (World #32) Li Jiawei. An impressive performance. (Continuing ahead with the single elimination ties for positions ) USA 3 England 2. (World #35) Gao Jun, den mother, coach-motivator, and world-class player to the rescue. But she had to have help and got it from our (World #568) Erica who persevered to down chopper (World #572) Hicks, 9, -10, -9, 9, 7. Ariel drew (World #152) Parker, oh, oh, another chopper, and so was -7, -4, -1 helpless. For her second match, Erica was up against (World #135) attacker Sibley and the (-5, -6, -2) discrepancy showed. USA 3 Italy 2. Again Gao Jun took two but almost needed more help than was given her. In the fifth match she eked out a in-thefifth win over Tan Monfardini. Ariel added the closer a rather easy four-gamer over Vivarelli, Natalie had no chance against Stefanova, but had up and down (14, -4, -4, 9, -3) moments against Top 100 player Tan. Monfardini. Russia 3 USA 0. Erica and Lily each won a game, but by this time that was nothing much to write home about. Spain 3 USA 1. A replay. But this time with Ariel (7, -10, -5, 8, 8) knocking off (World #108) Sara Ramirez, a major accomplishment. Natalie lost to Ramirez, -7, 8, -9, -9, and to Dvorak. Lily played (11, -9, 7, -8, -1) a great four games against (World #61) Zhu. The U.S. women finished 16th. And, more importantly, our very young players showed promise. (The Canada women finished 45th.) In Group C of the Championship Division, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) blanked all opposing teams except one. Undefeated Hong Kong beat them 3-1 to get the bye in the eighth s awarded to each Group s first-place finisher. In the openers, Korea s vaunted defenders split fivegame matches. Kim Kyung Ah downed Jiang Huajun, but Park Mi Young went down to (World #18) Tie Yana, 11-9 in the fifth. (World #56) Zhang Rui then upset (World #24) Dang Ye Seo; and when Kim couldn t win another, losing to Tie in four, Korea had to settle for second. Third place went to Hungary (whose proudest moment perhaps was World #162 Szandra Pergel s in-the-fifth win over Hong Kong s World #56 Zhang). Hungary defeated fourthplace finisher North Korea (DPR Democratic People s Republic), 3-1. Only (World #72) Han Hye Song was a winner for North Korea upsetting veteran Krisztina Toth. But Kim Jong (who d lost in-the-fifth to Hong Kong s Jiang) forced Petra Lovas into the fifth, and (World #118) lefthander Kim Hye Song, in falling 11-9 in the fifth to Georgina Pota, just missed giving Korea s point-winning squealers a 2-1 lead. DPR s only attempt to contest against South Korea saw Han Hye Song, a quick-hitting lefty, win a game and reach deuce in another against Kim Kyong Ah. The North Koreans even met stubborn resistance from France when (World # 83) Carole Grundisch, who plays for a Kremlin Club (not in Moscow but in Paris), defeated both Kims; and (World #195) Aurore Dessaint, on the wrong end of a swing game, lost in five to (World #118) Kim Hye Song. France, however, finished (0-5) last in the Group, behind Ukraine (1-4) whose (World #81) Tetyana Sorochynska won out over Grundisch in the fifth. In Group D there was only one 3-2 tie and it, being perhaps the most exciting of the tournament, decided the first two finishers. Japan (5-0) prevailed, 3-2, over Chinese Taipei (4-1). However, when Taipei s (World #39) Cheng I-Ching, hanging on for her dear country s life to take a stay-alive fourth game, won in five over (World #9) Ai Fukuhara; and (World # 232) Chen Szu-Yu upset (World #30) Kasumi Ishikawa, 11-9 in the 5th, Taipei had struggled to a 2-1 lead. But Fukuhara had no problem with (World #27) Huang Y-hua who d lost earlier to perennial Japanese Champion Sayaka Hirano. That brought Hirano and Cheng together for a samurai wife s show of heroics. Down in the fifth, Hirano finally won out maybe because by instinct she was used to winning. Later, she d tell the press, I do not even remember what was going on in my head during the rally of the three match points. Romania (third-place finisher) didn t drop a match to Belarus (fourth) who blanked Russia (fifth) and the Slovak Republic (sixth). Anna Tikhomirova led the Russian offensive against the Slovak Republic where I heard anyone could quickly buy a passport for $500. Tikomirova, the Russian Champion, won my Question Mark award: her scores against Taipei s Huang were: 7, 7, -4, -1, -2. Championship Division Second Stage (Single Elimination Eighth s) Netherlands over Poland, 3-2. The Netherlands couldn t help drawing China in the quarter s, but they certainly could help themselves here in the eighth s and did. Though it didn t start out as a bloody battle Li Jiao easing by Poland s Natalia Partyka, 7, 8, 6 it sure turned out that way. Poland s tall chopper Li Qian evened the tie with a five-gamer over Li Jie, and, as expected, the Poles took a 2-1 tie lead thanks to Xu Jie s win over Timina. Would Poland with 2009 Europe Top 12 Champ Li Quan up 2-1 and at 14-all in the fourth with Li Jiao end it with a third straight winning match? No, they wouldn t. Would Partyka, prevailing in a second game against Li Jie to go 2-1 up, still bring it home for Poland? No, dropping the fourth and fifth 11-9, she wouldn t. Timina, obviously satisfied, told the press the Netherlands had beaten both Spain and Poland on this particular day despite team problems and problems in the girls personal lives. Unspecified problems, else of course I d tell you what they were. (South Korea) Korea Republic over Croatia, 3-1. Croatia, playing without Tamara Boros (now World #51, far from her years in the Top 10), nevertheless gave it a game try. Croatia s (World #117) Andrea Bakula came out on top in a see-saw 11-9-in-the-fifth opener against (World #14) pick-hit defender Park Mi Young. Now if (World #89) Cornelia Vaida, up 2-1 and at 12-all in the fourth against fast attacker Dang Ye Seo, could but she couldn t. Nor could Bakula, any more than could World #257 Mirela Durak earlier, take a game from Kim Kyung Ah. (Where was Boros?) Germany over Romania, 3-1. A bit of a strange tie. In the opener, Romania s (World #28) Elizabeta Samara, though she didn t win as many points as Germany s Silbereisen, beat her in five. Then 2009 European Champion Do Do Wu sure seemed like she was going to do-do it to (World #20) Daniela Dodean, for she allowed her only 1 point in their start-off game. But after Dodean had won the second, the third at 13-11, and was at 10-all in the fourth, Germany was in great danger of going two matches down right off the bat. Wu won that game, though, and the next, to even the tie. Now a furious battle ensued between juniors Germany s Sabine Winter (still with one year of eligibility left) vs. Europe s best 15-year-old, Bernadette Szocs ( No imports for Romania, someone said, Romanians play Romanians ). Again Germany was in danger for Szocs, down 2-1, had won the fourth, 14-12, doubtless giving Winter a little chill. But it was Sabine s match. And Germany s shaky tie when Wu finished off Samara, 11-9 in the fourth. Hungary over Chinese Taipei, 3-1. CHIN-a! CHIN-a! rooters didn t win this one. Two gutsy performances by World #25 Krisztina Toth proved Taipei s undoing. First, Toth rallied from 2-0 down to stage a comeback in-the-fifth win over Cheng I-Ching. And when next up rallied again, again from 2-0 down, to survive a fourth, then close with a successful fifth against Huang Yi-hua. Georgina Pota, whose World ranking had recently risen from #72 to #49, added an easy win over Hsiung Nai-I. Said Taipei Coach Yang Meng-Heng after the tie, Our girls played poorly they were too slow. Teams Finishing in 13th through 24th Place Here are the final positions of those Women s Championship Division teams that are no longer in contention for the title. #13 DPR; #14 Russia; #15 Spain; #16 USA; 17 Ukraine; #18 Belarus; #19 Italy; #20 Slovak Republic; #21 England; #22 Czech Republic; #23 France; #24 Austria. Quarter s China vs. Netherlands. End of the line for the Netherlands. The two Li s who originally came from China to play for the Dutch Den Holder Club and got their Netherlands citizenship, as one fellow said, conspicuously quickly, played this 3-0 tie with Li Jie taking Ding Ning into the fifth. But Timina, saying We regulars have done our job, opted out in favor of letting young Carla Nouwen get needed experience. Korea Republic vs. Japan one of the most exciting ties of the tournament, with the winner sure to get a memorable award. Since there s no play-off for third/fourth, each semifinal team is assured of a medal. Note, too, this tie started at 4:30 p.m. First off: 2009 German Open Champion Sayaka Hirano vs Japan Open Champion Park Mi Young (who not incidentally beat Hirano in that final). It s top and chop play. Though each looks to pick a ball and hit it hard, Hirano mostly forehand topspins and Park mostly backhand chops. The great majority of the points are worked for. At 10-all, Hirano gets a high ball, then, when she doesn t hit it, another even higher, which she blasts in. Then she wins the game on a net ball. In the second, up 5-4, Park tries to catch Hirano with a fast serve to her forehand, but Hirano stretches and goes Park one better, zings the ball in crosscourt. Down 10-7, Hirano fights back to 9 but can go no further, and the match is tied 1-1. In the third, at 12-all, Park, moving well into pick position, misses, then misses another. The fourth, the first game that isn t close, goes to Park. In the fifth, though up 7-5, Park errs, misses picks, and loses six of the last seven points. Japan 1 Korea 0. Next: 2009 Morocco Open Champ Ai Fukuhara, a TV celebrity in Japan, now hoping to become a bigger one in China, vs. adept defender (World #5) Kim Kyung Ah who at 33 is almost old enough to be Ai s mother. Sometimes this match features extended pushing points, sometimes attack exchanges and openings where balls are viciously hit in. It s another marathon, but no game is very closely contested. After Fukuhara wins the first, defender Kim runs out the second from 5-all, smacking in her last three winners. No, she d said, she never considered being an attacking player, but one can see why the question was asked her. Fukuhara has great anticipation, fast hands for attack or defense. In the third, she moves into a 9-3 lead, then loses five of the next six points before securing the win. More streaky play in the fourth: Ah, up 9-3, doesn t win it until she s lost five of the next six points. How balanced these players, and this tie. In the fifth, both the balloon beaters and the players are in attack mode. Finally, one last miss by Fukuhara, and Ah, in happy relief, sinks to the floor. It s 6:45 and the tie is tied 1-1. Now it s (World #30) young lefty Kasumi Ishikawa against (World #24) Dang Ye Seo. Though neither player s a chopper they re into countering will this match too be prolonged? Maybe because, though the points go quickly, from 6-all Dang goes up Only to see her teenage opponent rally to 9 before losing. In the second, Dang s up at the table countering from both wings, wins rather comfortably, In the third, Dang s again on her way, up 5-2. But then seven straight points later the Korean s down 9-5, and soon Ishikawa s an 11-9 winner and can t get to her bench fast enough. Then back on court she wins the fourth too with extended counter-play. In the fifth, again Dang leads 4-2. But again Ishikawa takes seven points in a row, the last as Dang (Dang!) whiffs her serve return. And of course Ishikawa goes on to win the match. Japan 2-Korea 1. Back comes Hirano to meet Kim and would you believe they play a fourth straight five-game match? Kim, who s gotta be very fit, wins that one, 11, -10, 6, -11, 7. But Park, though stubbornly taking the second 13-11, goes down in four. Someone asked Kim what qualities she, and perhaps Park as well, needed to be a defender. Kim answered, Perseverance, patience, and a happy-go-lucky character. Happy-go-lucky! Blithely unconcerned! Considering this tie lasted 4 and ½-hours and was played with exhausting intensity, nothing could be further from the truth. Germany vs. Hong Kong. Twenty-five-yearold Jiang Huajin s penhold angled-off blocks are too five-game much for Kristin Silbereisen (indeed, she lost one game 11-1). But against Tie Yana, Do-Do Wu, after dropping the first game, won a key third 13-11, and in the fourth tied the tie. Now, remarkably, 17-yearold Sabine Winter, down 2-1, then down double match-point in the fifth to Zhang Rui, pulls off one of the most timely upsets at the tournament. My greatest achievement so far! she bubbles to the press. Nor does Wu let the opportunity go by. In the deciding match against ex-china attacker (World #7) Jiang Huijun, who once played for a club in Tianjin, now for one in Italy, Do-Do holds strong in the fourth. Once when asked what food she disliked, Jiang said, Anything that has a bitter taste. Equally apropos is Wu s comment to a reporter, It s like a dream to beat Hong Kong. Hungary vs. Singapore. No five-gamers here. Singapore, the 3-0 winner, is said to have, next to China, the best team in the tournament. Hungary s Pota, after losing the first 11-1, does much better loses the second 13-11, the fourth This tie offered an easy line to draw between the team that won and the team that lost. Sort of like the response given to USA Drug-tester Dr. Michael Scott when he left his jacket someplace. Do you have a Lost & Found here? he asked a person he thought might help him. Comes the response, We have a lost, but not a found nothing s ever found here. 22 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug 2010 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug

7 Positions Five through Twelve Time now for the final positions of those teams that didn t make the semi s: 5. Korea Republic. 6. Hong Kong. 7. Hungary. 8. Netherlands. 9. Chinese Taipei. 10. Poland. 11. Croatia. 12. Romania. Semi s China vs. Japan. Fukuhara starts against 2009 Asian Champion Ding Ning with all the enthusiasm and brightness she projects on camera goes 2-0 up. But, Ai, what happens? Ding ends up the 6, 4, 7 star of the show. Hirano, off to a win in the first against World #1 Liu Shiwen, is soon stopped 9, 5, 4. And Ishikawa falls down, down, down to (World #3) Guo Yan who d been cheered on by a pocket of Chinese singing to the accompaniment of the thumps of their red balloons. Give credit for pluck, though, to the little band of yellow-jacketed Japanese: as Ishikawa moves from 9-1 to 9-2 down in the final game of the tie, they cheer and beat their own balloons. Germany vs. Singapore. Against Singapore s 2009 Kal Cup Korean Open winner Feng Tianwei, Wu, in their seemingly never-ending first game, has early opportunities for a win, but her forehand fails her miserably. Later, as the score mounts and each player repeatedly has the ad, Wu leads At which point she tries her first high-toss a bad mistake cause she puts it into the net. Then she misses two consecutive forehands to lose this game After that she s unable to challenge. Silbereisen, up against (World #10) Wang Yuegu, trades off games of no particular tenseness drops the first at five; flashing in backhands wins the second from up 9-2; gets clobbered 11-3 in the third; rallies from 7-3 down to an 11-8 win in the fourth; and then in the end-game fifth, following a stretch counter, she leads 9-6. Now, though, it seems to me she s too eager. She quickly misses a forehand. Serves and quickly misses a forehand follow. Serves and quickly misses a backhand follow. Then goes ad down, but backhands in to deuce it. At 11- all Wang scores on a ball that seems to go right through a hole in Silbereisen s racket. Down Silbereisen tries to counter a forehand and misses. Bummer for Germany. Later, Silbereisen says to an interviewer, Maybe I should have risked more. Which, seeing her finish, made little sense to me. Of course Winter had no chance against Sun Bei Bei. Indeed, when the German girl was down 10-0 in the second, Sun deliberately served into the net. This didn t draw applause from me, for I found it condescending not sporting. Final China vs. Singapore. A huge contingent of Chinese spectators help to pack the stands on opposite sides of the single centered court. These fans have come with a flurry of flags and CHIN-a! chants to actively participate. Also intent on the action is the ever-moving, up, down, around giant camera crane with its extended magnifying eye. Roving over the players, their cheering teammates, and the aroused spectators, it looks from experience to intensify the question, What s happening here? First up: Singapore s 2009 World Singles runner-up, 23-year-old Feng Tianwei, vs. China s 19-year-old (World #4) Ding Ning. No problem for China Ding wins the first two games 8 and 3. I m struck by her singular serve motion the racket moves distractingly up and sideways, then comes back to make contact with a kind of pat motion that s a controlled swat. The eye observes this unusual phenomenon, then moves along to project on the arena screen above what it continues to see, and, from its selection, think Feng s down 4-2 in the third and calls Time. Both she and her coach sense a change is called for, she has to act now. BING!-BING! No it s not a terrorist s sniper fire (Moscow security couldn t be tighter try getting to your hotel elevator without showing the registration card given you). BING!-BING! It s one of the exuberant Chinese spectators clanging together two small cymbals something I d not seen or heard before. Ding, however, is deaf to its message she makes an absurdly high-loop-return of serve and loses the third game But in the fourth, she s back in control is up 8-3. Then, abruptly, it looks like the play is choreographed for Ding to lose. She makes a ridiculous attempt at a forehand, and when she loses the next point she doesn t even have to look she knows her coach has called Time. She comes back, loses three more badly-played points. At 9-all, there s an evocative stillness. Feng serves, fearlessly follows for a winner. More stillness, enhanced by two let serves from Feng. Then she gets an easy forehand to put away. On into the fifth where Ding is up 5-2. Feng Tianwei of Singapore: Photo courtesy of ITTF by Remy Gros But then she whiffs a serve return, and when she makes the weakest stroke I d seen anyone make at the tournament pathetic, as if there were no psychic strength behind it, it s five-all. Switch. CHIN-a! CHIN-a! At 9-all China has the serve, but Feng gets the point, and the matchwinning next one. Singapore 1-China 0. The eye s on the move wants to know the more: What s happening? Next up: Singapore s WangYuegu vs. China s Liu Shiwen who d come to Guangzhou at age eight (from the same Liaoning province as Wang) and would later win the 2009 World Cup and 2010 Evergrande Asian Cup there. What IS happening? Wang has Liu, who s finding it difficult to return serve, down 7-1 in the first, wins it Wang is playing as well as Feng did against Ding she 11-8 takes a two-game lead. Then, however, Wang starts putting balls into the net, and Liu coasts to an easy 11-2 win. She s found herself the China crowd s come alive. But, no, all s precarious in the fourth from 5-all to 10-all. And when Wang wins 12-10, China, down 2 matches to none, is in serious trouble. Of course 27-year-old Guo Yan, 2008 Pro Tour Grand Final winner/2009 Asian Cup Champion, is a favorite over (World #17) Sun Bei Bei. Even when Guo loses the first, right? Right. Which brings us to a World #1 Liu vs.world #2 Feng match-up. When Feng wins the first at 7, and when, down 4-2, she ties it up at 4-4 in the second, China is super-alert to DANGER and calls Time. And DANGER is there alright, even when Liu goes 8-5 ahead, for Feng continues to play well scores on a serve and follow, then had looked like a winning forehand from Liu to make it 9-all. Then, surviving from down 11-10, 12-11, 13-12, 14-13, Liu finally gets the ad and serves and forehand follows with the game winner. GHIN-a! CHIN-a! the fans erupt, the flags wave, the cymbals clang. But again what s happening? Feng is up in the third When Liu gets to 10-7, it s Feng s turn to be cautious. Time to hear from the coach. No more points for Liu this game. In the fourth, Feng continues to show she can take the offense away from Liu and vice-versa. By the time it s 9-all, the green-flapped photographers are all gathered up and down the courtside barriers waiting to swoop. But since Liu wins that game 11-9, jostling for best position now would be premature Liu and China, indeed, History itself, must wait. CHIN-a! CHIN-a! comes the encouraging cry. But Liu is making errors is down 9-4. CHIN-a! CHIN-a! This time it s desperately loud and futile. Feng wins 11-7 prostrates herself on the court floor. Then come the teammates hugs and the enclosing photographers. The extended eye has seen the happening knows it s historic, knows the past is no longer the present. There is no ninth straight Women s World Team title. Back a few days earlier, in a Press Center s Flash Interview, Liu Shiwen, described as China s Coach, said of her most recent blanked opponents, They made mistakes. We will learn from those mistakes. So, forget the crying and the outcry. Imagine what China will learn from their own mistakes. via a strong exchange, and then counters what THIS DVD SET IS 3-1/2 HOURS IN LENGTH. IT IS THE MOST THOROUGH INSTRUCTIONAL DVD EVER PRODUCED. COST: $79.95 SEND CHECK TO: Dan Seemiller, P.O. Box 608, New Carlisle, IN NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIPCODE For credit card payments visit: completetabletennis.com 24 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug 2010 USA TABLE TENNIS MAGAZINE Jul/Aug