Jiang Huajun /Tie Yana of Hong Kong, China, entered the semi-final of the 2008 ITTF Table Tennis Pro Tour Grand Finals which was opened here on Thursday, by beating hosting pair Chong Weng I/ Ma Chao In 4-0.
It took the Hong Kong pair only 20 minutes to book the victory with 11-1, 11-7, 11-3 and 11-4. They will face Kim Kyung-Ah/Park Mi-Young from South Korea in the semi-final on Friday. The South Koreans whitewashed Singapore's Feng Tianwei/Yu Mengyu 4-0 (13-11,11-5, 12-10, 11-8) in another quarter-finals on Thursday.
Daniela Dodean/Elizabeta Samara of Romania defeated Huang Yi-Hua/ Lu Yun-Feng of Chinese Taipei also on Thursday with a score of 12-10, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8 and 11-9. They will clash with Singapore's Li Jiawei and Sun Beibei in the semifinals.
In men's doubles, French pair Emmanuel Lebesson/Adrien Mattenet trounced favorite Jiang Tianyi/Tang Peng of Hong Kong, China, 11-2,8-11, 14-12, 10-12, 11-13 and 11-8. The French pair, who also took part in the Under-21 competitions on Thursday, showed a much more higher winning morale to secure their place in the semifinals, in which they will face Chuang Chih-Yuang/Wu Chih-Chi of Chinese Taipei.
Russian Alexei Liventsov/Igor Rubtsov downed Che Weng Heng/Leong Kin Wa of Macao, China, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 and 11-7 in the other quarter-finals on Thursday.
As the top level tournament of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) , the Grand Finals will be held until December 14. It consist of men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, as well as under 21 men's and women's singles.
In addition to a prize money of 38,000 U.S. dollars, the men's and women's singles champions will receive a sports coupe by sponsors.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2008)
