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China smash rivals at table tennis competition

PHOTO :EPA

China's men and women stormed over their hapless opponents 3-0 at the world team table tennis championships yesterday as their drive for dominance showed no signs of slowing.

China's men took just under an hour to dispose of European power Austria, the Red Army using the encounter to hone their formidable skills ahead of the Olympics on home turf later this year.

"You need some luck to beat China," Austria's former world champion Werner Schlager conceded, adding they were still confident of reaching the finals.

Austria, eighth at the last worlds, are second behind China in their group with one round of men's matches left to play before the finals kick off at the Guangzhou Gymnasium.

In a battle of the Asian powers, Hong Kong outgunned Singapore 3-1, the victory shoehorning them to equal top of their group alongside the city-state.

The victory was sweet for Hong Kong who are still smarting over their loss to minnows Denmark the day before.

"Singapore is the strongest in our group and we beat them, yet we lose to Denmark, it's unbelievable," said Tang Peng, the hero for Hong Kong, who clinched a crucial two out of their three matches.

PHOTO :EPA

"Today, I kept my head, my concentration was total, I was focused and just gave my best," he said.

China's women, boasting the world's top four players, cruised into the quarter-finals with an easy victory over Sweden, as they gun for their eighth straight world team title.

Singapore and Hong Kong, considered the strongest chances of derailing the Chinese juggernaut, are also into the last eight after thumping the Ukraine and Thailand respectively 3-0 to finish top of their groups.

In this series of photos from the Table Tennis World Championships in Guangzhou, China, yesterday, clockwise from the top, Japan's Fukuhara Ai returns a shot against France's Dessaint Aurore, Austria's Daniel Habesohn serves against China's Ma Long, Spain's He Zhi Wen serves against Konstantinos Papageorgiou of Greece, Sweden's Marie Persson returns a shot to China's Zhang Yining and the Netherlands' Elena Timina celebrates victory against Laura Negrisoli of Italy. PHOTOS: AFP, EPA, EPA AND EPA

Japan, in contrast, found themselves in a ferocious battle for the second day running, this time against a never-say-die France, before emerging with a 3-1 victory to also qualify.

Meanwhile, Hungary defeated the Taiwanese women's side 3-0 in Group B, leaving Taiwan fourth in their group.

Paddlers pan restrictions

PADDLERS PAN RESTRICTIONS

PHOTO :EPA

AFP, GUANGZHOU, CHINA

Top paddlers yesterday slammed a controversial plan to restrict the number of Chinese-born players at the elite level of table tennis, branding it unhealthy for the sport.

Gao Jun, a world champion for China before moving to the US, predicted that the skill level seen at top competitions would diminish if the proposal were adopted by the sport's governing body.

"It's not fair for everybody and it's not good for the sport," Gao told reporters at the world team championships.

Top International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) officials will vote on the plan here this week, amid concern over the large number of China-born players representing their adopted countries in top competitions.

Chinese-born paddlers dominate the sport in many countries, with some players moving from mainland China, where competition to make the coveted national squad is fierce, to a new country specifically to help their careers.

But Gao said such players should be applauded rather than discouraged.

"Many Chinese players represent other countries and they have brought the skill level of the sport up," the 38-year-old said.

"What if all of these players stopped, I cannot say for sure, 100 percent, but I can say most levels in these countries would drop," she said.

"There are now so many [Chinese] coaches and so many players who represent other countries around the world, who have really helped improve the sport," Gao said.

Gao, ranked 20 in the world, is one of two Chinese-born players on the US women's team. Gao moved to the US in 1994, when she was 24, after a stellar career in China that saw her win the world championship doubles title in 1991 and silver at the 1992 Olympics, also in doubles.

Former world champion and Austria's top player Werner Schlager also said the move would be damaging for the sport.

"Tell them to stay out? No way. We [European-born players] have to do more to be better. It's not good to lock them out," he said.

The Austrian men's team has one Chinese-born player and the women's two.

Controversy surrounding the move is set to ignite as the 32-member ITTF board of directors, representing various countries including China, prepares to vote on the proposal tomorrow.

Officials said concerns existed that table tennis would fail to attract players at junior and senior levels if national teams simply chose players switching from China and other nations.
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