Unsung contenders learn lessons from their defeat

The Olympics are the setting for many tales of athletes striving for victory. Some meet with success, but for others, the years of training and deprivation only lead to defeat. For Taiwan's Olympic delegation at Athens 2004, the stories of table tennis star Chuan Chih-yuan (莊智淵) and female shooter Lin Yi-chun (林怡君) are part of these tales that form a backdrop to the victory processions of the Olympic games.

Chuan, 23, has been fighting the odds from the beginning.

At only 169cm tall, he is short for a table tennis player, and he does not have the telegenic good looks of compatriot Chiang Peng-luung (蔣澎龍), the darling of Taiwan's table tennis scene. Chuang didn't even seem to have any natural talent for the game, and it was not until his victory in the 2002 Pro Tour that he was seriously thought of as a medal prospect and picked up by Taiwan's table tennis establishment.

Even so, he was generally overshadowed by the more high-profile baseball, aekwondo and archery squads.

The son of Lee Kuei-mei (李貴美), a former national team table tennis player, Chuang had always wanted to become a table tennis star. Although his mother believed he lacked the natural abilities of a top player, his dedication to the sport was unshakeable. He dedicated his life to training, giving himself no time for enjoyment, rest or girlfriends.

In March 2000, Chuan, who knows a little bit of English, went to Germany alone to join a German table tennis club, starting a lonely journey of more than three years. He attended numerous of competitions without any company, and most times his coach's seat was empty.

"Loneliness could not defeat my son; it just made him more dedicated. I would sometimes ask him to stop practicing, to go out with friends, to go dancing, go for a drive ... but he would always shake his head and continue with his practice," said Lee.

Now ranked fifth in the world, Chuan is regarded as one of the young stars of table tennis along with China's Wang Hao (王皓), German's Timo Boll and South Korea's Ryu Seung-min. Those four young talents all entered the quarterfinal, while Wang was defeated by Ryu during the gold medal round.

In the quarterfinals, Chuan came face to face with Wang, who eventually went on to win the silver in the men's singles. In previous competitions, Chuang had defeated Wang in three out of four matches, but at Athens, Wang had changed his game to get the better of Chuan's fearsome smash.

Chuan went into his game with Wang feeling confident, and at one point led 2-1. At this point Wang's coach, Liu Kuo-liang (劉國樑), himself an Olympic champion, make Wang keep the ball on Chuang's right so he could not use his signature left hand flash attacks. Chuan was unable to keep his lead, and was defeated 4-2.

According to Chen Shi-sung (陳溪松), a national team coach in Taiwan, China's stronger team mentality overcame Chuan, who was out there on his own.

"Despite his world-class technique, he couldn't win the initiative from Wang," Chen said. "The Chinese coach had picked out Chuan's weak points and made Wang boldly forgo his usual game, focusing on Chuan's right side instead. This is what gave him the victory."

Although Chuan will probably not get any huge endorsement deals, his dedication to the sport has earned him his opponents' respect. With more support from the home crowd, Chuan might well fulfill his promise in four years.