Table Tennis: Singapore women’s team upset China to become world champs
MOSCOW: Singapore’s trio Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Bei Bei rocked the sports world in Moscow when they beat reigning champions and world No 1 China 3—1 in the World Team Table Tennis Championships.
It was sweet revenge for the Singapore women’s team, ranked No 2 in the world, after they lost in the 2008 final and the Olympic final to the Chinese.
China, powerhouses in the men’s and women’s game for so long, were left stunned by a confident display from the Singapore women.
Feng, Singapore’s world No 2, was the star of the team, after she beat China’s world No 4, Ding Ning, in the first singles, before coming back to the table to clinch the winning point 3—2 against women’s No 1, 19—year—old Liu Shiwen.
Earlier, Wang stunned Liu in the second singles, while Sun fell to Guo Yan, setting up Feng’s epic finale as the Singapore women became the 2010 world table tennis champions.
Speaking after the victory, Singapore Team Manager Eddy Tay said the girls had a strong belief that they could beat China this time.
He said: "A lot of times, when we met them in the finals we lost 3—0, 3—1. But we kept telling them (Singapore players) that one day, we should be able to beat them....So, during the training, we kept drilling this into them — to have this mindset that we’re able to beat them, because we felt that without Zhang Yining, it’s one of the best chance to win them.
"A lot of times, some of them, when they meet China players, they tend to feel that there’s a gap between them. If you watch today’s match, you can see that Tianwei was even trailing in the first match. She was fighting for every point.
"That makes a difference, because....(in) Tianwei, you see the fighting spirit, and when she won the match, it really gave a lot of confidence to Yuegu going into the second match. She has also never beaten that China girl before.
"So I think that makes a lot of difference, because suddenly, they felt that, hey, the past doesn’t count, that although we have lost so many, many matches, it’s like a fresh start."
Eddy also described the team’s reactions immediately after the win. He said: "When we came out, all of us were in tears and they were lost for words. They couldn’t believe (they won)....especially Tianwei. She aspires to be the world champion. I think she’s done it, at the age of 24, and what’s there more to say. I think this is a lifetime thing that will stay with you, and Singapore created history, because in 19 years, no one has beaten them (China)."
this article really inspired me after xiao wei told us about it. i believe we could do the same too.
excited for this saturday's water training girls ?!?! (: