It is a battle of the minds indeed ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paddlers must show no fear
Medal contenders for the 2012 Olympics, the women should take a leaf out of Tao Li's book
05:55 AM Nov 20, 2010 Sat (with thanks to TODAY )
by Leonard Thomas
Hours after knifing through the water in a new national record time of 26.10 seconds to win gold in the women's 50m butterfly at Aoti Aquatics Centre in Guangzhou on Thursday night, Tao Li may well have struggled to get some shut-eye.
I wouldn't be surprised if she had woken up on Friday morning still on a high, adrenaline pumping through her with the tag undisputed one-lap butterfly champion in Asia firmly attached to her name.
The table tennis team would surely have felt differently.
Overcome with grief, women's world No 3 Feng Tianwei left for Beijing after her grandmother had passed away in the Chinese capital 24 hours earlier.
I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the paddlers had woken up weary, mentally shot after being on the receiving end of a pasting over the last few days by many of the all-powerful Chinese men and women.
Tao Li will return to Singapore from the 16th Asian Games on Saturday at 5.20pm at Changi Airport Terminal 3 a hero. After breaking through the barrier to become the first Singaporean to qualify for a swimming final at the Olympics when she finished fifth in the 100 fly in Beijing in 2008, the prospect of a medal at the 2012 Games is clearly a realistic target.
I wonder what Singapore's table tennis team will do in two years' time at the London Olympics.
While there is a fearlessness about Tao Li that is so refreshing, I sense our table tennis players cannot yet lift themselves when up against it.
The swimming star goes into her arena with a strut and the message "I am watching all of you" delivered specifically at her rivals with panache, our paddlers seem beaten even before they enter battle when it is a Chinese across the net.
In the last Olympic final and the two continental finals, the Chinese women have whitewashed Singapore 3-0 each time. Formidable as they are, China's table tennis players are not unbeatable.
But I fear the current climate in the sport in Singapore, and perhaps in many other countries, falsely suggests otherwise. We will never know what a worry-free Feng would have done in Guangzhou, but how else do you explain the capitulation by the Singaporeans in the women's team final on Tuesday.
Wang Yuegu, Li Jiawei and Feng lost their respective singles matches 3-0, none of them even won a game against the Chinese. The team's win at the world championships in Moscow in May has effectively been rendered a fluke.
While the men are a long way off, four of Singapore's women players - current world No 7 Wang, No 17 Yu Mengyu, No 20 Sun Bei Bei and Feng - are in the country's elite programme that provides all the support required to give them a chance to win a medal at the 2012 Olympics.
The other two are shooter Jasmine Ser and Tao Li.
Our table tennis women ended a 48-year medal drought for Singapore at the Olympics when they won silver in the team event in 2008 and if the goal is for them to repeat the feat in 2012, then they have a great shot.
But, if the ambition of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) is to show progress, or even achieve another breakthrough in London by winning a gold medal, then I daresay their stable of athletes will have to shed the fear factor and face up to the Chinese.
There is no shame in losing to China in table tennis, especially on their own turf. Their men and women have long been the undisputed kings and queens of the sport.
For the country's national sport, the Chinese have an established and intense development programme and the most populous nation on earth has an abundance of talent to choose from.
But even against such odds, upsets do occur, and dynasties come to an end.
The history of sport says so.
The all-conquering West Indies cricket team of the 1970s and early 80s were eventually beaten, Bjorn Borg lost in tennis, the United States stunned the Soviet Union in the Olympic ice hockey final in 1980, the list goes on and on.
Our table tennis women need to realise this.
The writer is executive sports editor at MediaCorp NewsHub.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC101120-0000069/Paddlers-must-show-no-fear
*THE CAN-DO SPIRIT*
Tao Li roars for Singapore
Swimmer wins country's first 2010 Asian Games gold
05:55 AM Friday Nov 19, 2010 (with thanks to TODAY )
by Tan Yo-Hinn
GUANGZHOU - Tao Li became only the second woman swimmer outside of China to win gold last night, when the Singapore speed merchant stormed to first place in the 50m butterfly at the 16th Asian Games.
The 20-year-old ended the Republic's wait for its first gold medal at the Games with a new national record of 26.10sec at the Aoti Aquatics Centre.
Japan's Yuka Kato took silver (26.27) and China's Lu Ying claimed the bronze (26.29). Tao Li's big rival, 19-year-old Jiao Liuyang, could only manage to come in fourth (26.55), ending the Chinese swimmer's dream of a hat-trick of butterfly golds, after her wins in the 100m and 200m.
Jiao's claim after the Chinese National Championships in April that she had no challengers on the continent had come home to roost, according to Tao Li.
"She said she has no rivals in Asia, so that was a motivation for me. When I saw there was so much media coverage on her, it spurred me even further," the Singapore star said, after the race.
Singapore Sports School graduate Tao Li had already lowered her previous national mark of 26.64 when she clocked 26.52 in the morning heats, and she was clearly pumped up to defend the gold medal she won at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.
When it was her turn to be introduced to the 3,000-odd crowd inside the Aoti Aquatics Centre last night, the Auckland University of Technology student made an "I'm-watching-you" gesture to the television camera, before raising both fists to salute the crowd and more than 50 Singapore fans in the stands, including her team-mates, coaches and parents.
Starting in lane 5, her reaction time at the bell was 0.71sec, similar to Lu and Jiao, who flanked her in lanes 4 and 6, respectively. Rising out of the water last of the trio, Tao Li's trademark kicking power propelled her forward and by the 25m mark, she was in the lead and no one was going to catch her.
It is her second Games medal, after her silver in the 100m fly on Saturday, and is another stepping stone in her quest to win a medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
For now, though, she indulged a little, saying cheekily after her race: "After this result, I don't think I have any rivals in Asia."
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC101119-0000124/Tao-Li-roars-for-Singapore
*THE FIGHT FOR GOLD*
China leave no doubt who is No 1
Stung by the Singaporeans in May, hosts produce their 'A' game to win table tennis gold
05:55 AM Nov 17, 2010 Wed (with thanks to TODAY )
by Tan Yo-Hinn
GUANGZHOU - At every break in proceedings, Tiffany Giardina's energetic number "Hurry up and Save Me" would blare out over the loudspeakers at the Guangzhou Gymnasium.
But there was to be no salvation for the Singapore women's table tennis team yesterday.
A ruthless Chinese outfit ensured there would be no shock result in the Asian Games women's team final, with the hosts claiming gold after an emphatic 3-0 whitewash of a team who had dared to challenge their dominance earlier in the year.
Backed by a loud 6,000-odd strong home crowd, world No 8 Li Xiaoxia, Guo Yan (1) and Guo Yue (4) picked off Wang Yuegu (7), Feng Tian Wei and Li Jiawei (29), respectively, in merciless fashion, not dropping a single game against the hapless Singaporean trio.
The result means the Chinese women finish the year as the undisputed world No 1 side, making up for the disappointment of their shock loss to Singapore in the world championships in Moscow in May.
South Korea and North Korea both went away with the bronze.
The Chinese exacted revenge when they beat the world No 2 team at the World Team Cup in Dubai last month and the latest result reasserts their superiority in the game.
"It was a very important match for us especially as it was the first table tennis final of this Asian Games," said China coach Shi Zhihao.
"It was absolutely crucial for us to do well and seize the initiative. The key today was not who was stronger but who was better at seizing control of the match.
"In that respect, Li Xiaoxia did very well as our first player. She was under a lot of pressure and she did really well."
Indeed, Li, 22, did have some difficult moments against Wang but she was not to be denied and won 11-8, 15-13, 11-9.
"Singapore actually played very well," she graciously said. "I just feel our preparations for all eventualities was a bit better and overall, we were stronger."
After their semi-final win over South Korea on Monday, the Chinese were peppered with questions over whether they saw the final as another chance for revenge after the loss in Moscow.
The roar of joy from the Chinese camp after Guo Yue won the final point against Li Jiawei showed how much the win meant to them. "After losing in Moscow, we went back and re-analysed and re-focused mentally and when we do that, nobody can beat us," said Guo Yan, 28.
"Only when you have such a strong opponent can you bring out your best abilities. We wouldn't have had the same reaction if we had beaten a far weaker side. We showed today that China is still number one in table tennis."
Li Jiawei felt the tie was closer than the scoreline suggested.
"We also prepared well for all possibilities but we didn't seize our opportunities at crucial moments," the 29-year-old said.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Sports/EDC101117-0000088/China-leave-no-doubt-who-is-No-1
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