A Good Sign for Reigning Olympic Champion
Korea’s Ryu Seung Min won two ITTF Pro Tour Men’s
Singles titles in 2004, the only two of his career. At the
Chile Open in Santiago on Sunday 27th April 2008 he won his
third, when he beat Korean compatriot Yoon Jae Young in the
final.
In 2004 he progressed to capture gold in the Men’s
Singles event at the Athens Olympic Games; could the victory
in Santiago be a good omen for Ryu Seung Min for the forthcoming
Beijing Olympic Games?
The final proved to be a comfortable ride for Ryu Seung Min,
whose forehand was in devastating form but at the semi-final
stage he had been tested to the limit by Hong Kong’s
Li Ching; whereas in the corresponding encounter the ice cool
Yoon Jae Young had experienced few problems against Japan’s
Kaii Yoshida.
Success for Korea in the Men’s Singles event but in
the Women’s Singles final they had to settle for silver
with Kim Kyung Ah losing a gruelling seven games duel against
top seed Singapore’s Li Jia Wei. At the penultimate
stage Li Jia Wei had won an all-Singapore duel against Feng
Tianwei whilst Kim Kyung Ah had won an all-Korean contest
in opposition to Park Mi Young.
It was the sixth ITTF Pro Tour Women’s Singles title
of Li Jia Wei’s career.
Gold for Singapore in the Women’s Singles event and
also in the Men’s Doubles where number one seeds, Gao
Ning and Yang Zi overcame Hong Kong’s Cheung Yuk and
Li Ching to secure their third ITTF Pro Tour Men’s Doubles
crown in the space of eighteen months.
However, in the Women’s Doubles final Singapore had
to settle for the silver medal; seeded two, Li Jia Wei and
Sun Bei Bei lost to Hong Kong’s Jiang Huajun and Tie
Yana; the latter winning their first ITTF Women’s Doubles
title as a pair.
Men’s Singles
Semi-Finals
Yoon Jae Young (KOR) bt Kaii Yoshida (JPN) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4,
2-11, 11-6
Ryu Seung Min (KOR) bt Li Ching (HKG) 11-5, 11-13, 3-11,
11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8
Final
Ryu Seung Min (KOR) bt Yoon Jae Young (KOR) 11-8, 11-4, 7-11,
11-5, 11-6
Women’s Singles
Semi-Finals
Li Jia Wei (SIN) bt Feng Tianwei (SIN) 11-9, 9-11, 11-4,
11-7, 11-3
Kim Kyung Ah (KOR) bt Park Mi Young (KOR) 10-12, 6-11, 11-5,
11-8, 11-9, 11-9
Final
Li Jia Wei (SIN) bt bKim Kyung Ah (KOR) 6-11, 11-9, 9-11,
11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7
Men’s Doubles
Final
Gao NIng/Yang Zi (SIN) bt Cheung Yuk/Li Ching (SIN) 11-6,
11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-2
Women’s Doubles
Final
Jiang Huajun/Tie Yana (HKG) bt Li Jia Wei/Sun Bei Bei (SIN)
11-9, 13-15, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6.
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"Source:
ITTF Press Release