Chinese players took three gold medals on Saturday in the
ProTour table tennis tournament of the Croatian Open 2006, which
started in Zagreb on Tuesday.
The men and women's doubles finals as well as women's single
final were all Chinese affairs.
Chen Qi and Wang Hao beat Lei Zhenhua and Li Ping 4-2 to win
their first ever men's doubles title as a partnership on the ITTF
ProTour, whilst Li Nan and Zhang Yining overcame Guo Yue and Li
Xiaoxia 4-0 to capture their fourth career ITTF ProTour crown as
women's doubles pairing.
The third Chinese title was won by Guo Yue. The 17-year-old
player beat her compatriot and top-seeded Zhang Yining in the
women's singles event.
Guo Yue
Meanwhile, in the men's singles event, Vladimir Samsonov of
Belarus retained his title beating China's Chen Qi 4-3 by the
narrowest of seven game margins.
"I had very good support in Zagreb," said Samsonov. "In the
quarters, semis and final I was on the borderline, all those
matches were close." He had played three matches against Chinese
opposition, Ma Long, Hao Shuai and Chen Qi, and he beat them
all.
Over 400 players have taken part in the US$100,000 tournament,
which features the men and women's singles and doubles
competitions.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2006)
