Olympics: China defeat Germany for men's team table tennis gold

Tuesday, 19 August 2008

BEIJING - China's table tennis giants marched over Germany for gold in the men's team event on Monday, and immediately warned they were aiming for total domination of the Olympic tournament.

China, boasting the world's top three players, were rarely troubled against Germany's trio, winning 3-0 and sparking cheering and singing from the packed, flag-waving Chinese crowd.

With the Olympics on home soil and table tennis considered the national game, China are aiming for all four golds - anything less considered by officials and thousands of frenzied fans a failure.

Three-time world champion Wang Liqin said they were all told beforehand that losing the final was not an option.

"Before we came into the match, our coach said the mission for the men's team final is a must-win task," he said.

"We have worked very hard and our performance is very good, that's why we achieved the final victory, and that makes me very happy."

Coach Liu Guoliang warned that the trio - including world number one Wang Hao and number two Ma Lin - were just getting started.

"It was our strategy that we must win this gold medal because that demonstrates the power of our country," Liu said.

"We have accomplished just one half of our pre-set target, the future battles will be even more difficult, even more challenging but we will try our utmost to win all of the gold medals."

China's women won the team event on Sunday, downing rivals Singapore with the men's and women's singles competition still to come.

In contrast, Germany's rising star Dimitrij Ovtcharov said they were happy with silver, realising that defeating China in a team event was a huge task.

"We are very very happy, at this moment, this is the maximum that you can reach in the team event. China, they are the best team in the world, you have to accept it," the 19-year-old said.

Wang Hao took the first match against Ovtcharov who went down in a brave fight 3-0. Ma faced a tougher battle against three-time Olympian Timo Boll, considered one of the few Europeans capable of derailing the Chinese.

Ma took the first game before Boll roared back in the second, taking a 7-1 lead before closing out the game.

But the world number two held his nerve, taking the next two games with some fast and furious table tennis, pumping his fists with every winning shot.

In the doubles, Germany's Boll and Christian Suss combined to take the first game against Wang Hao and Wang Liqin.

But the Chinese simply upped the tempo, taking the next three, as the Germans started to flag, for a 3-1 win.

China, the world team champions who won three gold in Athens - and now 18 out of the 22 since the sport was introduced at the 1988 Games - steamrolled over the competition on the way to the final, without losing a match.

Earlier on Monday, South Korea downed Austria 3-1 to win bronze, with defending Olympic singles champion Ryu Seung-Min finding form at the crucial moment.

"We are really, really happy because this is the first team match and we got the bronze medal. I thank very much my teammates and the coaching staff," Ryu said. "I will do my best in the singles matches," he added.

Team competition has been introduced for the first time in Beijing, replacing doubles. -