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China's men complete title sweep
Source: Agencies |
01:33 UTC+8 August 9, 2012
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CHINA completed a clean sweep of all the Olympic table tennis gold medal when its men stormed to victory over South Korea to clinch the team title at the London Games yesterday.
The heavily favored Chinese defended their 2008 title by slamming South Korea 3-0 to pick up the nation's fourth gold and keep all Olympic titles in their hands for another four years.
China swept all four titles at Beijing, and some had wondered whether it could maintain the intensity without the home support at the London Games.
However, a chanting crowd festooned with the red flags of China was in full voice as Ma Long and Zhang Jike won their respective singles matches over Ryu Seung-min and Joo Sae-hyuk to give China a 2-0 lead. Wang Hao and Zhang then secured the gold by beating Oh Sang-eun and Ryu to clinch the best of five matches final and spark delirious cheering from the Chinese fans in the stands at the ExCel Arena hall.
Wang and Zhang embraced and acknowledged roaring fans with pumping fists and salute before strolling a half-lap of honor around the venue with Ma and their coach. Beijing silver medalists Germany took bronze by defeating China Hong Kong - a team composed of three players born in Chinese mainland - 3-1 earlier, with European champion Timo Boll securing the decisive singles victory in four sets over Jiang Tianyi.
Estimates suggest 500 million Chinese watched the men's final on TV. Many viewed China's semifinal against Germany as the "real" final, when the Chinese won 3-1 against a stubborn team led by Boll, the top-ranked non-Chinese player.
China has won an amazing 24 of 28 gold medals since the sport entered the Olympic schedule in 1988. Besides the two gold and two silvers, the Chinese could have taken the bronze medals too if nations had not been limited to two singles players instead of three.
Adham Sharara, the president of the International Table Tennis Federation, has encouraged China to share its expertise with the world. He said they had been cooperating, aware that one country's dominance could dull interest. "It will change in the next four or five years," Sharara said.
The heavily favored Chinese defended their 2008 title by slamming South Korea 3-0 to pick up the nation's fourth gold and keep all Olympic titles in their hands for another four years.
China swept all four titles at Beijing, and some had wondered whether it could maintain the intensity without the home support at the London Games.
However, a chanting crowd festooned with the red flags of China was in full voice as Ma Long and Zhang Jike won their respective singles matches over Ryu Seung-min and Joo Sae-hyuk to give China a 2-0 lead. Wang Hao and Zhang then secured the gold by beating Oh Sang-eun and Ryu to clinch the best of five matches final and spark delirious cheering from the Chinese fans in the stands at the ExCel Arena hall.
Wang and Zhang embraced and acknowledged roaring fans with pumping fists and salute before strolling a half-lap of honor around the venue with Ma and their coach. Beijing silver medalists Germany took bronze by defeating China Hong Kong - a team composed of three players born in Chinese mainland - 3-1 earlier, with European champion Timo Boll securing the decisive singles victory in four sets over Jiang Tianyi.
Estimates suggest 500 million Chinese watched the men's final on TV. Many viewed China's semifinal against Germany as the "real" final, when the Chinese won 3-1 against a stubborn team led by Boll, the top-ranked non-Chinese player.
China has won an amazing 24 of 28 gold medals since the sport entered the Olympic schedule in 1988. Besides the two gold and two silvers, the Chinese could have taken the bronze medals too if nations had not been limited to two singles players instead of three.
Adham Sharara, the president of the International Table Tennis Federation, has encouraged China to share its expertise with the world. He said they had been cooperating, aware that one country's dominance could dull interest. "It will change in the next four or five years," Sharara said.
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