Fri, August 15, 2008
BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Singapore ended its 48-year Olympic medal drought here Friday after beating South Korea 3-2 in the semifinal of the women's team table tennis tournament at the Beijing Olympic Games.
The Southeast Asian city-state, with a population of 4.6 million, has never won a medal at the Games since a silver for men's weightlifting in 1960. Singapore pinned its hopes on its women paddlers, led by Beijing-born Li Jia Wei.
In the final, Singapore will face either China or Hong Kong of China, who will take to the table later Friday for their semifinal showdown.
"We will get a silver at least. I'm extremely satisfied and give my team a full mark," said Singaporean coach Liu Guodong. "Having worked as a coach in Singapore for two years, I'm very happy to have helped the country end its 48-year medal drought."
"We will try our best to play China in the final though they are much stronger than us. To win or to lose, we are successful because my team is the best besides China."
Feng Tianwei of Singapore finished off Dang Ye-seo 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 in the first set, before Kim Kyung-ah, a handshake chopper, foiled higher-ranked Li's fast attack, winning 5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9.
Li then paired with Wang Yue Gu, showing perfect teamwork to beat Kim and Park Mi-young 11-7, 11-6, 11-9. But Dang crushed an exhausted Wang 11-8, 14-12, 11-9 in the following singles match..
With the match tied at 2-2, Singapore's hopes fell on Feng, who displayed extraordinary sangfroid, beating a tenacious Park 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 11-9.
"I had to be patient and wait for opportunities to attack," said Feng. "When everyone was nervous at the last moment, staying calm was my advantage."
South Korean coach Hyun Jung-hwa told reporters that Singaporeans improved a lot and were well prepared with hard training.
"It's pity that we lost, but we will try to get a bronze medal," she added.
