A big test for big guns

A big test for big guns

SINGAPORE - The two powerhouses are both in transition after the retirement of veteran stalwarts.

Today, the progress of the Singapore and South Korean women's teams will come under the spotlight when the two nations face off in a Group C clash at the World Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo.

The winners will almost certainly top the group and receive a bye to Friday's quarter-finals.

Both teams have perfect records after three matches - Singapore beat both Russia and Holland 3-1 yesterday - and are joint top of Group C with six points each.

UNDERDOGS

Singapore head coach Jing Junhong insisted her team will be the underdogs today.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, she said: "We will definitely be the underdogs as they are higher-ranked than us now. But we will just go out there and give it our best shot."

South Korea are ranked world No. 2, behind mighty China, while Singapore are fifth.

But Jing was heartened by the way her players performed yesterday, especially in the win over world No. 8 Holland.

Singapore No. 1 and world No. 7 Feng Tianwei delivered the Republic's first point in the opening singles when she beat Holland's Li Jie 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. Compatriot Yu Mengyu was stretched to five sets in the second singles but squeaked through 5-11 11-8, 11-3, 9-11 11-7 over Li Jiao.

Debutant Isabelle Li, ranked 159th in the world, fought hard against her higher-ranked opponent, but fell 10-12, 11-7, 11-3, 5-11, 9-11 to Britt Eerland.

Feng (above) then confirmed victory for Singapore with a 8-11 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 win over Li Jiao.

"We prepared really comprehensively for this tie and were prepared to play five matches for the win, so I was pleasantly surprised by the score," said Jing.

"Mengyu played well today - she hadn't beaten Li Jie in her previous two meetings, and while that might have impaired her psychologically, she remained steady to achieve a breakthrough.

"It was a pity that Isabelle didn't win both her matches (against Russia and Holland) though. She led 2-1 in both cases but lost both times."

The men's team completed a perfect day for the Singapore with a 3-1 win over Ukraine in a Group B encounter

The Singapore women have enjoyed great success at the biennial world team championships.

They finished second to China in 2008, stunned the world when they exacted revenge in 2010 and were second again to the Chinese in 2012.

With the likes of Li Jiawei and Wang Yeugu no longer in the mix, Li is very much in the spotlight.

Coach Jing put Li's losses down to the player's lack of big match experience.

"It is a good learning experience for her, but she will also need to improve her technique to do better," said Jing.

With France their final opponents on Friday, the Singapore women are possibly one match away from making the last eight, and are almost guaranteed a top-16 finish - the bottom three from each group play for positions 13 to 24.

But Jing is not thinking that far ahead.

She said: "We are just looking to do well in the next match, and the one after that. If we can achieve that, then the results will come naturally." We will definitely be the underdogs as they are higher-ranked than us now. But we will just go out there and give it our best shot. - Singapore head coach Jing Junhong on playing South Korea

This article was published on April 30 in The New Paper.

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