China

Young paddlers pile pressure on veteran

By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-02-27 08:30

World No 1s Wang Liqin and Zhang Yining are widely considered shoe-ins for spots on China's table tennis team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, but both paddlers know that this could not be further from the truth.

Guo Yue of Chinese table tennis squad,winner of three ITTF Pro Tour tournament titles this year, is considered one of the best of a new generation of Chinese table tennis players.[Xinhua]

With less than 18 months until the Games start, a crop of emerging youngsters are cranking up the pressure on the veteran duo.

The new generation, led by 18-year-old Ma Long and Guo Yue, 19, have dominated competition so far in 2007, in the process proving their status as legitimate medal contenders.

"This is no surprise," said national team head coach Liu Guoliang. "The rising young players keep on putting a lot of pressure on the world title holders. That's a reason why China is a success in the world of table tennis."

Ma outclassed Wang Liqin and world No 2 Wang Hao to win his first ever International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) trophy at the Kuwait Open in January. Meanwhile his women's teammate Guo has pocketed three out of four titles in 2007 in Slovenia, Croatia and Kuwait respectively, beating Athens Olympic gold medalist Zhang Yining twice this year.

Despite winning six ITTF titles in 2006, 28-year-old Wang Liqin has struggled to deal with the challenge from younger teammates and has failed to win an ITTF title so far this year.

Added to this, he has yet to confirm his spot at the World Championships this year in Zagreb, Croatia, after finishing fourth in the team's first internal qualification tournament. That event was won by Hao Shuai, an emerging star who clinched the Croatia Open in January.

"We will try hard to push the veterans," said Hao. "All of us are fighting for spots at the Beijing Olympics and I think I have a chance of getting one."

Tough road

Head coach Liu says his target for the Games is crystal clear - sweeping all four gold medals

The Table Tennis Administrative Centre, led by Liu and women's coach Shi Zhihao, has even signed a letter of guaranty with the State General Administration for Sports promising a sweep.

"Whenever we come to a tournament, gold medals are what we chase the most. The Olympics is no exception," said Liu. "To clinch all the golds is not only the dream of Chinese players and coaches, it's our responsibility. I know the whole country has very high expectations, but we don't have any excuses for missing out on a gold when the Olympics is on our doorstep."