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Sunday, September 24
Waldner stands in way of China sweep
Reuters
SYDNEY, Australia -- Top-seeded Kong Linghui of China moved on Sunday into the men's singles Olympic table tennis final where he faces former champion Jan-Ove Waldner of Sweden, who stands in the way of a Chinese gold medal sweep. Kong beat former world champion Joergen Persson of Sweden 21-12, 13-21, 21-16, 21-13 to advance to Monday's final, while Waldner, the gold medalist in Barcelona, beat China's Liu Guoliang 21-19, 21-16, 21-19.
On Sunday, China's Wang Nan beat her doubles partner Li Ju to win the women's table tennis Olympic gold and silver medals. China had already won the men's and women's doubles golds. Waldner said the crowd support and the presence of King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden helped him get past Liu, the gold medalist in Atlanta. "The support of the crowd and the Swedish royal family were very important to me," he said. But he added it would be tough to beat Kong. "If he plays me like he did against Persson, he will be very hard to beat," he said. Kong and Persson split the first two games before Kong's attacking style gave him the upper hand in the final two games. "I was changing my attack all the time. There were no consistent tactics. I had to attack all the time because I had to be in control of the game to win," said Kong, who teamed up with Liu to take the doubles silver in Sydney. The pair won the gold in Atlanta four years ago. Persson said he was pleased with his play but added that Kong's backhand put him under pressure. "This was a very strong competition...I am pleased with my performance today, but Kong was just a little better with his backhand," he said. Kong said he would have preferred to meet his doubles partner in the final. "Psychologically speaking, it is easier to compete against Liu Guoliang because the gold will be in Chinese hands," he said.
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