TABLE TENNIS Chinese denied clean sweep
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See the article in its original context from May 1997.
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Samsonov, seeded fourth, also served well, played backhand-to-backhand counter-hitting rallies consistently, and kept his nerve well in the most important moments of his career as he completed a famous 21-15, 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 upset victory.
Samsonov will meet Sweden's former world champion Jan-Ove Waldner in Monday's final. Kong's surprising loss means China now is unable to win all seven of the titles it collected two years ago. Kong fought bravely all through, and although his coach Cai Zhenhua was given a yellow card for illegal coaching in the second game, he returned serve well in the third, found more fluency with his forehand topspins in the fourth, in which he advanced to a lead of 11-9. But then Samsonov won all five points on his service sequence to recover to 14-11. This applied enormous psychological pressure on the defending champion who was unable to play with the same freedom.
"This win was good for Europe," said Samsonov. "With China winning everything last time, it was also good for the game." Waldner, the Swedish table tennis star described by the Chinese as the only player they fear, showed why when he reached his fourth world final in six attempts.
The former world and Olympic champion's produced a dazzling performance and a straight games victory over Yan Sen, a 21-year-old Chinese who plays in the Swedish league.
Waldner trailed 8-15 against the young left-hander before advancing with startling speed to a 21-17, 21-14, 21-12 victory.
Yan's serve had caused the early difficulties but the second-seeded Swede reeled off ten points in a row and 13 out of 15 to take the first game.
After that it was Waldner all the way, and his increasing mastery was signalled with breathtaking arrogance at 10-5 in the third game when he suddenly countered Yan's best forehand loop attacks with a flat backhand cross court smash, flicked the overhit return up in the air with his foot, and caught it.
The Swede has a chance of halting the Chinese march to the titles a second time because earlier he and another former world champion Jorgen Persson reached the semi-finals of the men's doubles.
The defending champion Deng Yaping reached the women's singles final for the fourth time in five attempts. She beat her compatriot Li Ju 21-12, 21-19, 21-7 and will meet another Chinese player, Wang Nan, in the final. Deng's victory over Hong Kong's Wong Ching in the quarter-finals helped ensure China's fourth successful title defense.
But an unattributable Chinese source suggested that a Chinese-Hong Kong pair might be encouraged to win the women's doubles. Three Chinese pairs in the semifinals may be asked to allow the partnership of Qiao Yunping and Chai Po Wa to do well, as a diplomatic gesture in advance of the hand-over of the colony from British rule to China.
