South Korea's quest for a singles medal was halted as Oh Sang Eun did not make it to the top four after being crashed by China's Ma Lin in the table tennis tournament on Friday.
Oh staged aggressive charges against Ma but hardly posed any real challenge to the four-time World Cup winner, who took the match 4-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10) in straight sets.
"I lost the first set without any cause. I was actually leading in the third game but lost it due to some easy mistakes," the 1.86-meter Oh said.
Oh showed a great shape in coping with 6th-ranked Timor Boll of Germany 4-1 in the 1/8 round. The 31-year-old lost only to Ma in team event.
"I did not have any expectation for this match since our preparation is poor," Oh said.
Oh's teammate Ryu Seung Min, defending singles Olympic champion, did not even reach top 16 following a defeat by Ko Lai Chak of Hong Kong, China.
Ma said Oh was a strong rival and the game was not as easy as it looked. "Especially in the third set when I fell behind 9-5."
"Ma has done a good job in beating Oh who is the strongest rival for China among foreign paddlers," coach Liu Guoliang said.
Earlier on Friday, Wang Liqin made easy work of Tan Ruiwu from Croatia 4-0 in 22 minutes.
"I don't think I played to my full capabilities. My opponent did not put up much of a fight, so he did not pose any threats to me," Wang said.
Tan said that he and Wang was not on a par technically.
"To have come this far at this tournament probably because I had a good draw. I am very very satisfied with my performance," the former Chinese player said.
Wang Liqin will play Ma Lin in the semifinals on Saturday while Wang Hao will take on Swiss veteran Jorgen Persson who has vowed to break the Chinese wall with spirited play.
(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)