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8<br />
20<br />
26<br />
34<br />
39<br />
43<br />
49<br />
55<br />
62<br />
71<br />
80<br />
91<br />
104<br />
118<br />
131<br />
147<br />
163<br />
LONDON<br />
PARLOUR GAME TO GLOBAL SPORT<br />
HISTORICAL LOCATIONS<br />
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 1926<br />
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 1935<br />
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 1938<br />
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 1948<br />
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 1954<br />
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 1966<br />
ITTF PRO TOUR GRAND FINALS 2011<br />
TABLE TENNIS IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
ACCEPTANCE<br />
SEOUL 1988<br />
BARCELONA 1992<br />
ATLANTA 1996<br />
SYDNEY 2000<br />
ATHENS 2004<br />
BEIJING 2008<br />
SINGAPORE YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES 2010<br />
180<br />
190<br />
206<br />
210<br />
214<br />
218<br />
222<br />
226<br />
230<br />
234<br />
240<br />
242<br />
244<br />
246<br />
248<br />
249<br />
GOLD MEDALLISTS<br />
FACTFILE - WOMEN<br />
FACTFILE - MEN<br />
OLYMPIANS<br />
SEOUL 1988<br />
BARCELONA 1992<br />
ATLANTA 1996<br />
SYDNEY 2000<br />
ATHENS 2004<br />
BEIJING 2008<br />
SINGAPORE 2010<br />
OLYMPIC GAMES LONDON <strong>2012</strong><br />
TABLE TENNIS RETURNS HOME<br />
COMPETITORS - MEN<br />
COMPETITORS - WOMEN<br />
MEN’S SINGLES, MEN’S TEAM<br />
WOMEN’S SINGLES, WOMEN’S TEAM<br />
OFFICIALS<br />
SCHEDULE OF PLAY<br />
Edi<strong>to</strong>r: Ian Marshall<br />
Author: Colin Clemett<br />
Design: Jorge Alarcon (jl_alarconv@hotmail.com)<br />
Contribu<strong>to</strong>rs: English Table Tennis Association, Jens Fellke, He<br />
Xiao, Chuck Hoey, Jean-Jacques Huberman, Louis Seo, Zhang<br />
Xiaopeng<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>graphs: An Sung Ho, Colin Clemett, Coloured Pins on<br />
Map, Rémy Gros, ETTA Archives, ITTF Archives, <strong>London</strong> Mayor’s<br />
Office, Monthly World Table Tennis, John Oros, Guido Schiefer,<br />
Manfred Schillings, Table Tennis 1926, Table Tennis Magazine,<br />
Tamasu Butterfly, The Vic<strong>to</strong>rian Web, Wikipedia, John Wood,<br />
www.deadpubs.co.uk, www.hmtickets.com, www.stbride.org<br />
Printed by:<br />
Grafinpren, Av.Carlos Arosemena<br />
Guayaquil, Ecuador<br />
Telf.:(5934) 221362<br />
E-mail: imprenta@grafinpren.com<br />
Website: www.grafinpren.com<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
Richard Scru<strong>to</strong>n<br />
Jose Yepes<br />
Modany S.A.
Pho<strong>to</strong>: <strong>London</strong> Mayor’s Office<br />
<strong>London</strong>, we are privileged <strong>to</strong> be hosting<br />
table tennis’ greatest exponents at the<br />
<strong>2012</strong> Olympic and Paralympic Games.<br />
Encouraging more people <strong>to</strong> get fit and<br />
active is a <strong>to</strong>p priority of mine and I<br />
have no doubt that having the world’s<br />
greatest players battling it out here in<br />
<strong>London</strong> will help <strong>to</strong> encourage people<br />
of all ages and abilities <strong>to</strong> take up the<br />
bat.<br />
Table Tennis Comes Home<br />
at <strong>London</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />
I’m really looking forward <strong>to</strong> watching<br />
the action this summer and I have no<br />
doubt that a new generation of players<br />
will be inspired by what they see and<br />
perhaps go on <strong>to</strong> represent their country<br />
and win gold themselves one day.<br />
Boris Johnson, (Mayor of <strong>London</strong>)<br />
At the close of the Beijing Games in<br />
2008, I prophesised that table tennis<br />
would be returning home.<br />
Four years later I am absolutely delighted<br />
<strong>to</strong> say that it has. My words generated<br />
much debate as <strong>to</strong> the origins of this<br />
fantastic game and I have no hesitation<br />
in confirming once more that I stand by<br />
my assertion that wiff-waff and pingpong<br />
are one and the same, with the<br />
wiffs predating the pongs.<br />
Regardless of the semantics this is a<br />
sport of which we can be proud of as<br />
a nation. It was in this country that<br />
wiff-waff moved from eighteenth<br />
century parlour game <strong>to</strong> internationally<br />
recognised sport, with the formation<br />
of the International Table Tennis<br />
Federation in 1926.<br />
Today, more than 80 years after the first<br />
World Championships was held here in
Shining Brightly<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>2012</strong>, the seventh time that table<br />
tennis has been a member of the Olympic<br />
programme; we have moved from comparative<br />
tentative steps in Seoul in 1988<br />
<strong>to</strong> becoming one of the most firmly established<br />
of all Olympic sports.<br />
The facts and figures from Beijing, fourth<br />
overall in terms of television audience<br />
worldwide and eleventh in the United<br />
Kingdom amongst 28 sports, endorse the<br />
fact that table tennis has an increasingly<br />
high status; all <strong>to</strong>gether, whether volunteers<br />
or professional staff, we can take<br />
pride that table tennis enjoys such high<br />
regard.<br />
Furthermore, since the Olympic inauguration<br />
in 1988, table tennis has moved forward;<br />
we have moved with the times. Not<br />
only have regulations changed regarding<br />
the size of the ball, the service rule and<br />
the points scoring system; also, major advances<br />
in the way in which we present and<br />
promote the sport have occurred.<br />
The whole image with the designer centre<br />
court table, standing in a theatrical setting<br />
gives the occasion status. Meanwhile,<br />
in the promotion of the sport, the rapid<br />
advances in technology now enables our<br />
viewers <strong>to</strong> tune in <strong>to</strong> our telecasts and<br />
watch the drama unfold; more than four<br />
million distinct viewers are currently registered<br />
<strong>to</strong> our own itTV.<br />
Nowadays, enthusiasts can follow the GAC<br />
GROUP World Tour on lap<strong>to</strong>p computers<br />
and just as the birth of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation and the staging<br />
of the first World Championships was in<br />
England; so was the start of the present<br />
day Tour.<br />
In 1996, the first ever ITTF Pro Tour <strong>to</strong>urnament<br />
was held in the market <strong>to</strong>wn of Kettering;<br />
a concept was born that has blossomed<br />
and is now an integral part of the<br />
International Table Tennis Federation’s<br />
competition programme. However, it is <strong>to</strong><br />
the future that we must look, rest on laurels<br />
and there is stagnation; innovate and<br />
there is progress.<br />
Therefore, high praise must be afforded<br />
<strong>to</strong> the English Table Tennis Association.<br />
In late November 2011, a successful ITTF<br />
Pro Tour Grand Finals was staged, the test<br />
event for the Olympic Games. Now it is the<br />
real thing; of course their members are<br />
heavily involved in the organisation of the<br />
table tennis events at the Olympic Games<br />
and soon after the Paralympic Games.<br />
However that is not all; later in the year,<br />
the LIEBHERR Men’s World Cup will be<br />
staged some 180 miles north in the city<br />
of Liverpool. A high level of activity; from<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>, from Kettering <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>,<br />
from <strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> Liverpool or wherever;<br />
the country where it all started is once<br />
again the focus of attention, the <strong>London</strong><br />
<strong>2012</strong> Olympic Games.<br />
I pay my highest respect <strong>to</strong> Mr. Colin Clemett<br />
for writing and documenting a piece<br />
of our his<strong>to</strong>ry on the occasion of the <strong>2012</strong><br />
<strong>London</strong> Games.<br />
Light the <strong>to</strong>rch; may table tennis once<br />
again shine brightly.<br />
Adham Sharara (ITTF President)<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Guido Schiefer<br />
A True Olympic Sport<br />
The streets of <strong>London</strong> are paved with<br />
gold; when the Closing Ceremony concludes<br />
and the Olympic flame is doused,<br />
the pan<strong>to</strong>mime tale will be true for some<br />
but only for the few.<br />
It is only the very few who will leave England’s<br />
capital city with a medal clutched<br />
tightly in grasping hands.Quite simply being<br />
an Olympian is a gold medal in itself,<br />
that fact has been clearly witnessed in the<br />
table tennis arenas of the world for almost<br />
two years.<br />
Watching players in action, well over 18<br />
months before matters commence in the<br />
ExCel Arena, the desire <strong>to</strong> gain a World<br />
ranking that would ensure a direct entry<br />
was clearly evident; for those near the cut<br />
off line, clear goals of reaching a certain<br />
stage in a <strong>to</strong>urnament had been set. The<br />
pressure on the faces of those near the<br />
borderline was clear <strong>to</strong> see; for those who<br />
achieved the target, there was a relief, for<br />
those who did not, a nervous wait. They<br />
lived in hope that others would come <strong>to</strong><br />
their rescue. Equally, unbridled joy was<br />
mixed with the desolation of despair in<br />
all Continental and World qualification<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnaments; enough tears of happiness<br />
and sadness were shed <strong>to</strong> necessitate the<br />
Thames flood barriers being raised.<br />
The Olympic Games is a great motiva<strong>to</strong>r,<br />
it lifts players <strong>to</strong> new heights and is it the<br />
reason why we see some enjoy long and<br />
distinguished careers? Jörgen Persson,<br />
Zoran Primorac and Jean-Michel Saive, in<br />
<strong>London</strong> they will be competing in no less<br />
than their seventh consecutive Olympic<br />
Games. They will have competed in every<br />
Olympic Games since table tennis was introduced<br />
in Seoul in 1988. I wonder, without<br />
the lure of the Olympic Games would<br />
they still be gracing the international table<br />
tennis arenas if the world?<br />
Also, if asked the question in 1988 which<br />
was the more important, the Olympic<br />
Games or the World Championships, the<br />
vote might well have been with the latter;<br />
over two decades later it is with the<br />
former.<br />
It now seems strange that there were times<br />
when leading members of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation questioned<br />
and even opposed the idea of table tennis<br />
being in the Olympic Games; some feared<br />
such a move might reduce the value of the<br />
World Championships.<br />
The status of the World Championships<br />
is as strong as ever. Is anyone really upset<br />
that the Olympic Games is seen as the<br />
pinnacle? Quite the reverse, it is seen as<br />
complementary, not a rival, a fantastic<br />
showcase.<br />
A potential new clientele is introduced<br />
and whether new or an aficionado; those<br />
present in the tiered seating in the Olympic<br />
arena are the privileged. They witness<br />
a sport where the world’s greatest players<br />
are of the highest integrity, they see<br />
a sport they can try, they behold a sport<br />
that is truly global; a sport that upholds<br />
the principles of the International Olympic<br />
Committee.<br />
They see a true Olympic sport, the sport of<br />
table tennis.<br />
Ian Marshall (Edi<strong>to</strong>r)
Words of Wisdom<br />
Colin Clemett is the author of “From <strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong><br />
<strong>London</strong>”; it is his patient and painstaking work<br />
that has made the comprehensive book possible.<br />
We are indebted <strong>to</strong> his efforts.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Hours of detailed research have been necessary<br />
in order <strong>to</strong> produce this publication;<br />
delving in<strong>to</strong> the archives has been the<br />
work of Colin Clemett.<br />
True <strong>to</strong> his character he has unravelled<br />
minutes of meetings, researched articles<br />
in magazines of yesteryear and placed<br />
matters in<strong>to</strong> a logical, detailed and understandable<br />
order; but that is Colin Clemett.<br />
A reply from Colin Clemett is always forthcoming<br />
in a rational manner. Never is<br />
there a peak of anger or a hasty remark<br />
in annoyance, always a response of calm<br />
reason; you receive a reply in which you<br />
can have <strong>to</strong>tal confidence.<br />
He is in the same position as the player<br />
who stands at the <strong>to</strong>p of the World ranking<br />
list; that player has nowhere <strong>to</strong> go <strong>to</strong><br />
find a practice partner of a higher level.<br />
It is the same for Colin Clemett, if there<br />
is a problem <strong>to</strong> be solved, he is the man<br />
<strong>to</strong> whom you turn when all else has failed<br />
but where does he go for clarification?<br />
The answer is simple, nowhere, he is the<br />
ultimate; like the player ranked at the<br />
<strong>to</strong>p of the global order, there is no higher<br />
point of reference.<br />
If Colin Clemett cannot give an answer,<br />
then there is no answer but that never<br />
happens, a judgement <strong>to</strong> help solve the issue<br />
is always made.<br />
One man above all who appreciates the<br />
advice of Colin Clemett is Richard Scru<strong>to</strong>n,<br />
the Referee for the Athens 2004 Olympic<br />
Games and the Table Tennis Competition<br />
Manager for the <strong>London</strong> <strong>2012</strong> Olympic<br />
Games.<br />
He is a man <strong>to</strong> turn <strong>to</strong> for advice but more<br />
than once I have heard him utter the immortal<br />
words “let me check with Colin”.<br />
Quite right, Colin Clemett is the iconic arbiter,<br />
the definitive advisor and only the<br />
very few in sport can compare with his<br />
pedigree.<br />
A life member of the English Table Tennis<br />
Association; he has been a member of the<br />
ETTA National Umpires and Referees Committee<br />
for 55 years and Secretary since<br />
1959.<br />
Meanwhile, for the International Table<br />
Tennis Federation, he was Secretary of the<br />
Rules Committee from 1969 <strong>to</strong> 1973 and<br />
Chairman from 1973 <strong>to</strong> 2003. He was responsible<br />
for the introduction of the International<br />
Umpire and International Referee<br />
qualifications, edi<strong>to</strong>r of the Handbooks<br />
for Match Officials and Tournament Referees,<br />
whilst being a Technical Delegate at<br />
the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.<br />
Deservedly he has been recognised for his<br />
contribution. He was appointed a member<br />
of the ITTF President’s Advisory Council in<br />
2005 and ITTF Personal Honorary Member<br />
in 2007.<br />
He is a man held in high esteem by all and<br />
a man with whom it has been a privilege<br />
and honour <strong>to</strong> work in compiling <strong>London</strong><br />
<strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>, the work of Colin Clemett.<br />
Ian Marshall (Edi<strong>to</strong>r)
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
PARLOUR<br />
Game <strong>to</strong><br />
Global<br />
Sport<br />
Unfortunately, the two Associations diverged on a fundamental matter of rules.<br />
Although both had originally used the single-bounce service, the Ping Pong<br />
Association later decided <strong>to</strong> change <strong>to</strong> the double-bounce system and clubs<br />
affiliated <strong>to</strong> one or the other, in accordance with their preferred method.<br />
8<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
It is widely accepted that table tennis,<br />
or “parlour tennis”, began in England<br />
in about 1880, as an indoor derivative<br />
of lawn tennis or of its predecessor, real<br />
tennis.<br />
In the beginning it was a fairly basic<br />
game with a variety of improvised<br />
equipment. Rackets might be of plain<br />
wood, of wood covered with cork or<br />
sandpaper, or of vellum stretched on a<br />
wooden frame. Nets were in a range of<br />
heights and might not actually be nets<br />
at all but solid, consisting, perhaps, of<br />
rows of books on end; balls could be<br />
made of cork or rubber. Tables, which<br />
were often dining tables, could be of<br />
different sizes and heights.<br />
There was no standard system of scoring;<br />
<strong>to</strong> win a game might mean scoring<br />
11, 21, 50 or even 100 points. Service<br />
could be by means of a first bounce on<br />
the server’s court, as at present, or by<br />
the ball being struck direct on <strong>to</strong> the opponent’s<br />
court, as in lawn tennis, except<br />
that in this case the ball had <strong>to</strong> be struck<br />
underhand from below the level of the<br />
server’s waist. There were also several<br />
variations of doubles play; this lack of<br />
uniformity was not important while<br />
table tennis was merely a light-hearted<br />
parlour game, not <strong>to</strong> be taken <strong>to</strong>o seriously.<br />
However, <strong>to</strong>wards the end of the<br />
century its character began <strong>to</strong> change.<br />
In the late 1890s a former English international<br />
cross country runner, James<br />
Gibb, brought home from a business<br />
trip <strong>to</strong> the U.S.A. some celluloid balls<br />
which he thought might be better for<br />
table tennis than the rubber balls which<br />
he had been using. It was his view that<br />
the sound that they made when struck<br />
with the vellum-covered rackets in common<br />
use, was “ping-pong”.<br />
He suggested this <strong>to</strong> a friend and neighbour,<br />
John Jaques, a prominent sports<br />
goods manufacturer, as a more suitable<br />
name for the game than “Gossima”,<br />
which Jaques had registered in 1891.<br />
John Jaques agreed and forthwith registered<br />
the title throughout the world,<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Berlin<br />
1926<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Table Tennis 1926<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 9
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
an action which would have some unexpected<br />
consequences.<br />
Around 1900, the game began <strong>to</strong> acquire<br />
increased status and popularity<br />
and a number of clubs were formed<br />
throughout the country. The Cavendish<br />
Club, which was based in Armfield’s<br />
Hotel in Finsbury, is said <strong>to</strong> have been<br />
the earliest but it was soon followed<br />
by many others. A Direc<strong>to</strong>ry published<br />
in a short-lived magazine of the time,<br />
the Table Tennis Pioneer, shows that in<br />
early 1902 there were over 50 clubs in<br />
the <strong>London</strong> area alone. Even so, it appears<br />
that these clubs may have been<br />
over-subscribed, because a later issue includes<br />
a request from a reader for information<br />
on a club “which has a vacancy<br />
for a new member”.<br />
From 1901 there was also a rapid<br />
growth in the number of <strong>to</strong>urnaments,<br />
which usually included only singles<br />
events, sometimes “mixed singles” in<br />
which both men and women <strong>to</strong>ok part.<br />
Doubles, or “the four-handed game”,<br />
was generally regarded as something of<br />
a novelty; the announcement of a <strong>to</strong>urnament<br />
at the Royal Aquarium in early<br />
1902 said “One of the features of this<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnament will be the ‘mixed doubles’.<br />
The male player will have a member of<br />
the fair sex for his partner and they will<br />
use one racquet between them.”<br />
It was not unusual for there <strong>to</strong> be 300<br />
or more entries in such <strong>to</strong>urnaments despite<br />
an entry fee of 2s 6d (one eighth of<br />
£1), at a time when the average weekly<br />
wage for a skilled worker in, say, the<br />
printing trade, was only about £2 and<br />
for a civil servant or teacher about £3.<br />
The attraction may have been the value<br />
of prizes, which for the winners were<br />
typically worth £25. Although there was<br />
no real national body, some of these<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnaments were given titles such as<br />
the All-England Championships or the<br />
UK Championships and the winners<br />
were recognised as national champions.<br />
One of these was Percy Bromfield, who<br />
was <strong>to</strong> play an important part in the<br />
eventual revival of the game.<br />
Clubs from the outset had operated on<br />
an individual basis and with their own<br />
rules and there had been no attempt<br />
<strong>to</strong> form broader alliances. It was during<br />
the first major open <strong>to</strong>urnament at<br />
the Royal Aquarium in 1901 that the<br />
first significant step <strong>to</strong>wards wider organisation<br />
of the game was taken. In<br />
that year Walter Harrison, Secretary of<br />
the Cavendish Club, had suggested that<br />
there would be merit in forming an Association<br />
with the objects both of promoting<br />
the game and of agreeing on<br />
common standards and rules. On 12th<br />
December the Table Tennis Association<br />
was formed but almost immediately the<br />
hope of uniformity was threatened by<br />
the formation, a few days later, of the<br />
Ping Pong Association.<br />
Unfortunately, the two Associations diverged<br />
on a fundamental matter of rules.<br />
Although both had originally used the<br />
single-bounce service, the Ping Pong Association<br />
later decided <strong>to</strong> change <strong>to</strong> the<br />
double-bounce system and clubs affiliated<br />
<strong>to</strong> one or the other, in accordance<br />
with their preferred method.<br />
It was clearly an unsatisfac<strong>to</strong>ry situation,<br />
as was pointed out in The Pioneer:<br />
“While recognising the varied interests<br />
involved and the perfect right of individuals<br />
<strong>to</strong> play Ping Pong or Table Tennis,<br />
we cannot think that the best interests<br />
of the two games - so essentially<br />
similar - are best served by the governance<br />
of two distinct and independent<br />
Associations.”<br />
10<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
The logic of this argument was apparent<br />
and in December 1902 the two Associations<br />
announced their intention <strong>to</strong><br />
merge by the following 1st May. They<br />
agreed initially on the unwieldy title of<br />
“The United Table Tennis and Ping Pong<br />
Association” but this was soon changed<br />
and the new organisation became simply<br />
“The Table Tennis Association”.<br />
However, this rationalisation had come<br />
<strong>to</strong>o late; table tennis had fallen out of<br />
fashion and the game in England died<br />
as quickly as it had risen. The situation<br />
was that by 1905 it was played in only<br />
few isolated parts of the country and it<br />
was many years before it regained anything<br />
like its former standing.<br />
There have been several suggested explanations<br />
for its sudden demise: the<br />
absence of a strong national organisation<br />
<strong>to</strong> define a uniform system of play<br />
and equipment standards; technical developments,<br />
such as the use of rubbercovered<br />
rackets, which widened the gap<br />
in skill between the dedicated competition<br />
player and those for whom the<br />
game was merely a leisure pursuit.<br />
The most likely reason was that table<br />
tennis did not in those early years acquire<br />
the status of a serious sport in the<br />
minds of the public. It was an entertaining<br />
pastime which became popular for<br />
a while but it had its time and then just<br />
died away.<br />
However, not everyone had lost their<br />
enthusiasm and in 1921, Percy Bromfield,<br />
the champion from 1904, and<br />
John Payne, the last secretary of the defunct<br />
Table Tennis Association decided<br />
<strong>to</strong> try <strong>to</strong> revive the game. Bromfield<br />
said in a 1931 article that the initiative<br />
came from a newspaper advertisement<br />
placed by an otherwise unidentified Mr<br />
Thompson, asking whether any former<br />
players were still active, <strong>to</strong> which he and<br />
Payne responded. He later gave a slightly<br />
different account but whatever the<br />
truth is, the fact is that the two of them<br />
met and established a new Ping Pong<br />
Association in November 1921, with<br />
Bromfield as Chairman, Payne as Secretary/Treasurer<br />
and a committee of five.<br />
Their first major enterprise was the organisation<br />
of a National Championships<br />
and this was held at Selfridge’s Department<br />
S<strong>to</strong>re in Oxford Street in April<br />
1922. The only events were men’s and<br />
women’s singles and the men’s singles<br />
final seems <strong>to</strong> have been a ferociously<br />
competitive and slightly bad-tempered<br />
affair.<br />
The finalists were Austin Carris, a<br />
wealthy Manchester businessman and<br />
Andrew Donaldson, a schoolmaster<br />
from Sunderland. Donaldson’s only<br />
preparation for playing was <strong>to</strong> remove<br />
his jacket, collar and tie. Carris complained<br />
that the sound of Donaldson’s<br />
leather boots on the wooden floor was<br />
distracting him. In return, Donaldson<br />
protested that he was being unsighted<br />
by the reflection of light from the diamond<br />
studs in Carris’s dress shirt. Donaldson<br />
eventually won by four games <strong>to</strong><br />
one and <strong>to</strong> show this was no fluke he<br />
reached the final again in 1924.<br />
The game was beginning <strong>to</strong> attract the<br />
interest of the popular press and early<br />
in 1923 the Daily Mirror organised its<br />
first national <strong>to</strong>urnament. Over a period<br />
of several months more than 30,000<br />
entrants played in qualifying stages arranged<br />
in their own areas and the finals<br />
were staged in May at the Stadium Club<br />
in High Holborn. The first prize in both<br />
the men’s and the women’s events was<br />
a Calthorpe car, with the losing men’s<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 11
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Percy Bromfield<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Table Tennis 1926<br />
The club’s tenure in Baker Street does<br />
not seem <strong>to</strong> have lasted very long, because<br />
in November 1923 it moved <strong>to</strong><br />
the St Bride Institute in Bride Lane. The<br />
name was changed <strong>to</strong> the St Bride (All-<br />
England) Club (eventually <strong>to</strong> just St<br />
Bride’s Club) and it became one of the<br />
strongest in the country.<br />
In a 1937 advertisement it offered the<br />
use of five tables “on exclusive nights”<br />
for a subscription of 13 shillings (the<br />
equivalent of £0.65) a year. Table tennis<br />
was played there until the end of the<br />
1980s. Its name is best remembered for<br />
the World Men’s Singles trophy, the St<br />
Bride Vase, donated in 1929 by its then<br />
Secretary, Cyril Corti Woodcock.<br />
semi-finalist receiving a mo<strong>to</strong>r-cycle and<br />
the ladies’ runner-up a fur coat.<br />
Winner of the men’s event was James<br />
Thompson of Bris<strong>to</strong>l. He beat Percy<br />
Bromfield in the semi-final aided, as<br />
Bromfield was keen <strong>to</strong> point out later,<br />
by a 5-0 start in each game. The ladies<br />
event was won by 15 year old Kathleen<br />
Berry from <strong>London</strong>, who was <strong>to</strong> be the<br />
English Open women’s singles title holder<br />
from 1923-25.<br />
The second new recruit <strong>to</strong> the Ping Pong<br />
Association’s committee was a young<br />
Cambridge student called the Hon. Ivor<br />
G. S. Montagu. He was born in <strong>London</strong><br />
on Saturday 23rd April 1904, the third<br />
son of Lord Swaythling, a prominent<br />
banker. Somewhat <strong>to</strong> the dismay of<br />
The Ping Pong Association committee<br />
was joined in 1922 by two people<br />
who were <strong>to</strong> have a substantial influence<br />
on the game; one was Austin Carris,<br />
the losing finalist. He had come <strong>to</strong><br />
<strong>London</strong> with big ideas <strong>to</strong> put the game<br />
back on the map. He introduced “ping<br />
pong teas” and “ping pong <strong>to</strong>ys”, and<br />
he even bought a racehorse and called<br />
it Ping Pong. He set up the All-England<br />
Club in <strong>London</strong> with its headquarters in<br />
Slater’s, a restaurant in the Strand, moving<br />
later in 1922 <strong>to</strong> more spacious premises<br />
in Baker Street.<br />
Corti Woodcock<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
12<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
his parents he held, from an early age,<br />
strong left-wing political views and as<br />
soon as he was old enough, he became<br />
an active member of the British Socialist<br />
Party, the Labour Party and then, in the<br />
1930s, the British Communist Party.<br />
He was educated at Westminster School<br />
and went on <strong>to</strong> study Zoology first at<br />
the Royal College of Science and later at<br />
Cambridge University, where he gained<br />
an honours degree in the subject. He<br />
had hoped originally <strong>to</strong> pursue a career<br />
as a scientist; as a young graduate he<br />
<strong>to</strong>ok part in an expedition <strong>to</strong> a remote<br />
part of the Caucasus <strong>to</strong> find and bring<br />
back specimens of a primitive type of<br />
mole that was thought <strong>to</strong> be facing extinction.<br />
However, it was his other passion, films<br />
that soon claimed his interest and he<br />
spent some 40 years in the industry both<br />
in England and in Hollywood, working<br />
variously as a screenwriter, edi<strong>to</strong>r and<br />
producer. He was a producer or associate<br />
producer for several of Alfred Hitchcock’s<br />
early films, such as The Man Who<br />
Knew Too Much and The Thirty-Nine<br />
Steps; his close friends included Charles<br />
Chaplin and Sergei Eisenstein.<br />
In 1925 he was a founder member of<br />
the <strong>London</strong> Film Society and he later<br />
worked for a time as a film reviewer for<br />
The Observer. During World War Two<br />
he was a reporter for the Communist<br />
newspaper, the Daily Worker and, it has<br />
since been alleged, that while in this<br />
post he obtained privileged access <strong>to</strong><br />
classified information which he passed<br />
<strong>to</strong> the U.S.S.R.<br />
Although he is remembered most for his<br />
table tennis activities, as a young man<br />
he was an enthusiastic participant in several<br />
other sports including soccer, lawn<br />
tennis and cricket; by his own account<br />
he was a competent but not outstanding<br />
performer in most of them. Perhaps<br />
realising his limitations he went on <strong>to</strong><br />
become a qualified umpire for lawn<br />
tennis and cricket and he believed that<br />
this was invaluable experience when he<br />
came <strong>to</strong> drafting practical and enforceable<br />
rules for table tennis.<br />
Meanwhile, whilst at university he set<br />
up the Cambridge University Table<br />
Tennis Club, initially because having<br />
had some experience at the game he<br />
thought - wrongly, as it proved - that<br />
this was one sport where he would be<br />
able <strong>to</strong> excel against beginners.<br />
Not discouraged, he continued <strong>to</strong> promote<br />
table tennis at the university with<br />
the strong support of a senior member<br />
of the academic staff, F. B. Kipping,<br />
whose sister Florence (Scott) became<br />
the first English Open women’s singles<br />
champion. He arranged matches against<br />
other clubs that were starting and in his<br />
book he tells of their first contest with<br />
the equivalent club at Oxford University.<br />
The six members of each team played<br />
each of the six members of the opposing<br />
team and Cambridge won the match 31-<br />
5, with Ivor being the only loser for his<br />
side. However, before this he had made<br />
contact with the flourishing All-England<br />
Club, becoming a member in 1922; this<br />
brought him <strong>to</strong> the notice of the officers<br />
of the newly revived Ping Pong Association.<br />
A first test of his value <strong>to</strong> the organisation<br />
came later in 1922. He recounts in<br />
his au<strong>to</strong>biography The Youngest Son,<br />
“All went swimmingly until our committee,<br />
endorsing applications <strong>to</strong> hold<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnaments, approved one that was<br />
<strong>to</strong> be held without specifying equip-<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 13
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
ment manufactured by Messrs Jaques.<br />
Unknown <strong>to</strong> us, this name was the registered<br />
property of the <strong>London</strong> firm of<br />
John Jaques & Son; it had passed in<strong>to</strong><br />
common speech without realisation of<br />
its legal status as monopoly property.<br />
Crisis: our committee felt the game<br />
could never develop unless it was independent,<br />
yet there could be no doubt of<br />
the legal rights of Jaques.<br />
An emergency meeting was called for<br />
Thursday 2nd November 1922 at the<br />
George Hotel in the Strand. Jaques’<br />
manager, a member of the committee,<br />
had equipped himself with countless<br />
proxies, gathered at high speed from all<br />
the <strong>to</strong>wns where dealers sold his firm’s<br />
equipment. No-one wanted <strong>to</strong> bell the<br />
cat and I - possibly as youngest - was<br />
made the fall guy. I was voted in<strong>to</strong> the<br />
chair, ruled all the proxies out of order,<br />
accepted a motion <strong>to</strong> dissolve the “Ping<br />
Pong Association” and led a move in<strong>to</strong><br />
the next room of everyone but Jaques’<br />
manager, where we reformed ourselves,<br />
with identical rules, in<strong>to</strong> the “Table Tennis<br />
Association”.<br />
One of Ivor’s strong convictions was<br />
that the lack of uniform rules had been<br />
at least a contribu<strong>to</strong>ry fac<strong>to</strong>r in the collapse<br />
of the game in 1905. He was determined<br />
that there should be a single<br />
set of laws and regulations that was<br />
logically and legalistically correct and<br />
he led a small working group charged<br />
with this task.<br />
In the ensuing years they drew up a<br />
carefully considered code of laws of<br />
play, concentrated on persuading its<br />
nationwide acceptance by all supporters<br />
and on encouraging a high standard<br />
of available equipment. It is a tribute <strong>to</strong><br />
their work and particularly <strong>to</strong> his leadership,<br />
that the laws that they drafted for<br />
the English Association were later adopted<br />
worldwide and that even <strong>to</strong>day<br />
their basic principles and format remain<br />
virtually unchanged.<br />
Alas, all was not well with the new Table<br />
Tennis Association. Continual disagreements<br />
among the officers and committee<br />
members led <strong>to</strong> bitter arguments<br />
and eventual resignations. There were<br />
criticisms that the organisation was run<br />
by, and for the benefit of, an unrepresentative<br />
minority.<br />
Ivor describes the committee as functioning<br />
“just as a group of almost selfselected<br />
members, with only people<br />
who were well-known by their past<br />
prominence in the game or residence<br />
near <strong>London</strong> having any hope of being<br />
elected.” Soon this changed with<br />
the arrival of W. J. (Bill) Pope, a player<br />
of international standard with strong<br />
opinions on the way in which the game<br />
should be organised nationally.<br />
Bill Pope was born in Newport, Monmouthshire,<br />
in 1888, the eldest of six<br />
children. He left school at 12 years of<br />
age and worked as an errand boy until<br />
at 14 years of age he started work as a<br />
junior clerk at the District office of the<br />
Great Western Railway; from an early<br />
age he was a keen supporter of the<br />
Labour movement and an active trade<br />
unionist.<br />
Furthermore, he was a pacifist and<br />
during World War One he was sent <strong>to</strong><br />
prison as a conscientious objec<strong>to</strong>r; as<br />
a result, he lost his job on the railway.<br />
He successfully applied for a post in the<br />
headquarters of the National Union of<br />
Railwaymen and this brought him <strong>to</strong><br />
<strong>London</strong>, where his interest in table tennis<br />
brought him <strong>to</strong> the attention of the<br />
recently revived Ping Pong Association.<br />
14<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
It was not long before his ability in organisation<br />
and administration were recognised<br />
and he became first a member<br />
of the committee and later the Secretary,<br />
a post he continued <strong>to</strong> hold, with some<br />
interruptions owing <strong>to</strong> illness, until his<br />
death in 1950. In 1936 he was elected<br />
English Language Secretary of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation, a<br />
post he held until 1950. He was the ideal<br />
complement <strong>to</strong> Ivor Montagu and their<br />
relationship was in many ways similar<br />
<strong>to</strong> that established later in the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation between<br />
Roy Evans and Bill Vint. Ivor Montagu<br />
had the ideas, Bill Pope put them in<strong>to</strong><br />
practice; <strong>to</strong>gether they accomplished far<br />
more than either could have achieved<br />
without the other.<br />
Bill Pope’s first task was <strong>to</strong> persuade the<br />
committee that the Association should<br />
be reorganised so that it more truly represented<br />
national interests rather than<br />
those of an elite few. Ivor Montagu<br />
later admitted that he had not initially<br />
seen the need for such a change but he<br />
accepted it and later came <strong>to</strong> realise<br />
that it was an essential step in the establishment<br />
of the English Table Tennis Association.<br />
Thus in 1925 a sub-committee<br />
was set up <strong>to</strong> draft a new constitution,<br />
with Montagu as Chairman and Pope<br />
as Secretary. On Wednesday 26th August<br />
of the following year the Executive<br />
Committee Minutes record that:<br />
all documents finance etc. Signed: Percy<br />
Bromfield (Chairman).”<br />
The sub-committee was re-titled the<br />
Provisional Committee of the English<br />
Table Tennis Association and from that<br />
time it operated as the controlling body<br />
of English table tennis, although the<br />
formal establishment of the English Table<br />
Tennis Association was delayed until<br />
1927. There were more pressing matters<br />
<strong>to</strong> address and it was at this point that<br />
the affairs of the English Table Tennis<br />
Association and the International Table<br />
Tennis Federation became closely related,<br />
owing <strong>to</strong> the central part played in<br />
the foundation of both organisations by<br />
same man, Ivor Montagu.<br />
In the summer of 1925 Dr Georg Lehmann,<br />
Chairman of the German Ping Pong Association,<br />
invited Pranash Nanda, an<br />
Indian student living in <strong>London</strong>, <strong>to</strong> be<br />
the first international guest player in<br />
the German Championships. Earlier<br />
that year Nanda had won the English<br />
Open Championships and he repeated<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
“It was decided at a meeting held at St<br />
Bride’s this evening that the Executive<br />
Committee should resign and hand over<br />
the management of the Table Tennis<br />
Association <strong>to</strong> the Hon I. G. S. Montagu,<br />
representing the four Leagues (<strong>London</strong>,<br />
<strong>London</strong> Business Houses, Civil Service<br />
and Lu<strong>to</strong>n) who intend <strong>to</strong> form a new<br />
Association, and Mr G W Decker (Secretary)<br />
is hereby empowered <strong>to</strong> hand over<br />
Ivor Montagu<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 15
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
this success in Germany, winning every<br />
round six-nil (the <strong>to</strong>urnament was<br />
played using lawn tennis scoring).<br />
Encouraged by the response of German<br />
enthusiasts <strong>to</strong> this experiment, Dr Lehmann<br />
decided <strong>to</strong> invite all the European<br />
countries in which it was known table<br />
tennis was being played, <strong>to</strong> send players<br />
<strong>to</strong> an international <strong>to</strong>urnament in Berlin<br />
the following January and <strong>to</strong> attend<br />
a meeting there <strong>to</strong> discuss future international<br />
co-operation.<br />
The invitation was accepted only by<br />
Austria, Hungary and England, in England<br />
only after lengthy discussion. Most<br />
of the Executive Committee members<br />
were initially against England taking<br />
part but Ivor Montagu and Bill Pope<br />
thought it was a chance of progress that<br />
must not be missed. They finally managed<br />
<strong>to</strong> secure approval <strong>to</strong> assemble<br />
a party of players <strong>to</strong> accompany them<br />
but failed <strong>to</strong> gain any financial support<br />
and all those who went had <strong>to</strong> pay their<br />
own expenses.<br />
The <strong>to</strong>urnament was held and for England<br />
was not very successful but it soon<br />
became clear that what Dr Lehmann<br />
had in mind was <strong>to</strong> prove much more<br />
important than just the <strong>to</strong>urnament -<br />
the formation of an International Federation.<br />
A meeting duly <strong>to</strong>ok place at<br />
the Clubhouse of the Tennis Club 1900<br />
Berlin Gelb-Weiss <strong>to</strong> discuss the idea.<br />
However, the invitation had indicated<br />
the proposal only in vague terms, none<br />
of the delegates had the authority <strong>to</strong><br />
commit their Associations <strong>to</strong> supporting<br />
it but they were all convinced of its merits<br />
and wanted <strong>to</strong> press ahead. It was<br />
decided, therefore, that any conclusions<br />
should be recorded as “provisional” and<br />
it would then be up <strong>to</strong> the delegates <strong>to</strong><br />
secure national support when they returned<br />
home.<br />
Georg Lehmann<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Thus on Saturday 16th January 1926 it<br />
was agreed <strong>to</strong> form a “provisional International<br />
Table Tennis Federation” and<br />
<strong>to</strong> include as founder members all who<br />
applied before June of that year. The<br />
formal foundation of the Federation<br />
would take place at a meeting held in<br />
conjunction with a European Championships<br />
in December 1926 and the English<br />
representatives’ offer of <strong>London</strong> as<br />
the venue, subject <strong>to</strong> endorsement by<br />
the English Table Tennis Association’s<br />
Executive Committee, was gratefully accepted.<br />
Playing plans for the Championships<br />
were discussed; there would be a men’s<br />
team event and individual events for<br />
men and women including, somewhat<br />
<strong>to</strong> the surprise of the English represen-<br />
16<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
tatives, doubles events. At that time,<br />
doubles was not popular in England<br />
and seldom played in <strong>to</strong>urnaments. The<br />
rules were <strong>to</strong> be those drafted in England,<br />
which were already widely used<br />
elsewhere in Europe.<br />
On their return Ivor and Bill had <strong>to</strong> persuade<br />
the members of the English Table<br />
Tennis Association’s Executive Committee<br />
<strong>to</strong> confirm the provisional invitation.<br />
Eventually, this was achieved, in spite of<br />
strong opposition from members of the<br />
committee who were appalled by the<br />
magnitude of the project and the financial<br />
risks being taken.<br />
Agreement was reached only after Ivor<br />
had guaranteed that he would personally<br />
cover any losses. Further possible<br />
expense was avoided when his mother,<br />
Lady Swaythling, donated the now famous<br />
Swaythling Cup for the winners of<br />
the team competition. The <strong>to</strong>urnament<br />
was staged mainly in the Memorial Hall<br />
in Farringdon Street, although the first<br />
international team match was played at<br />
the Herga Lawn Tennis Club in Harrow<br />
and others were played at various venues<br />
in <strong>London</strong>.<br />
The Foundation Meeting of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation was formally<br />
opened at the Stadium Club and<br />
was attended by delegates from Austria,<br />
Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England,<br />
Germany, Hungary, India, Sweden and<br />
Wales. At this first session Ivor Montagu<br />
was unanimously elected as Chairman<br />
of the meeting, the reason being, according<br />
<strong>to</strong> Ivor was that he was reasonably<br />
fluent in the three main languages<br />
used.<br />
Apart from agreeing some administrative<br />
details the only business conducted<br />
was <strong>to</strong> rename the European Cham-<br />
pionships that were in progress as the<br />
World Championships for 1926-27. The<br />
decision was justified on the basis that<br />
the participants included several Indian<br />
players, mostly students who were living<br />
temporarily in <strong>London</strong>. The meeting<br />
was then adjourned and re-convened<br />
on the following Sunday 12th December,<br />
in the library of Ivor’s father’s<br />
house at 28 Kensing<strong>to</strong>n Court.<br />
During the second session the draft<br />
Constitution which had been proposed<br />
by England was discussed in detail and<br />
was accepted after a number of minor<br />
amendments had been made, including<br />
the adoption of both English and<br />
German as official International Table<br />
Tennis Federation languages. Elections<br />
<strong>to</strong> the various offices set out in the Constitution<br />
followed and resulted in the<br />
following appointments:<br />
Chairman: Ivor Montagu<br />
English Language Secretary: C. H. Hallett<br />
(Wales) German Language Secretary:<br />
Jan Gerke (Czechoslovakia) Advisory<br />
Committee: Dr A. H. Fyzee (India), Bela<br />
von Kehrling (Hungary), Dr Richard Pick<br />
(Germany), Dr Carl Linde (Sweden), Fritz<br />
Zinn (Germany),It was decided <strong>to</strong> adopt<br />
the Laws as used by the English as the<br />
international Laws but <strong>to</strong> allow some<br />
variations.<br />
Following a proposal by Czechoslovakia,<br />
seconded by Sweden, it was agreed that<br />
lawn tennis scoring be included as an experimental<br />
alternative <strong>to</strong> 21 point games but<br />
it appears that this system did not prove<br />
popular and the option<br />
was deleted at the<br />
subsequent Annual<br />
General<br />
Meeting.<br />
However,<br />
another<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 17
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
variation, making it illegal <strong>to</strong> volley the<br />
ball even when it had passed over the<br />
playing surface without <strong>to</strong>uching it, remained<br />
part of the Laws until 1995.<br />
Having successfully hosted the inauguration<br />
of the International Federation<br />
and the first World Championships, the<br />
Provisional English Table Tennis Association<br />
now needed <strong>to</strong> ratify its own<br />
position. The Foundation Conference<br />
<strong>to</strong>ok place at the Indian Students Hostel<br />
in Gower Street on Sunday 4th April<br />
1927. The Constitution and Regulations<br />
drawn up by the provisional Committee<br />
were adopted and Ivor Montagu and<br />
Bill Pope were elected Chairman and<br />
Secretary respectively. It was a fitting<br />
recognition of the contributions that<br />
they had made <strong>to</strong> the establishment of<br />
table tennis as a national and an international<br />
sport.<br />
it was not sustained but when the renaissance<br />
came in 1921 it was in <strong>London</strong><br />
that the process began.<br />
Between then and 1927 nearly all of the<br />
significant events in table tennis, such<br />
as the foundation of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation and the English<br />
Table Tennis Association <strong>to</strong>ok place<br />
in <strong>London</strong>, mostly within a fairly small<br />
area of the city. At the end of that period,<br />
table tennis in England had gone<br />
from being a fringe activity <strong>to</strong> a properly<br />
organised national sport and internationally<br />
a sound base had been established<br />
for its development throughout<br />
the world.<br />
Now 86 years after the revival it will be<br />
<strong>London</strong> that is the setting for another<br />
memorable occasion, the table tennis<br />
competition of the <strong>2012</strong> Olympic Games.<br />
<strong>London</strong> saw the first wave of enthusiasm<br />
for table tennis, in the early years<br />
of the twentieth century. Unfortunately<br />
W.I.(Bill) Pope<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
18<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<br />
Much of the early his<strong>to</strong>ry of the game was lost when the English Table Tennis<br />
Association’s Office and all its records were destroyed by bombing in September<br />
1940. Since then great efforts have been made <strong>to</strong> retrieve the missing information<br />
from personal records and reports in contemporary newspapers and magazines,<br />
particularly by people such as Gerald Gurney, author of “Table Tennis - The Early<br />
Years” and Alan Duke and Steve Grant, whose research has been published from<br />
time <strong>to</strong> time in “The Table Tennis Collec<strong>to</strong>r”. The account makes use of these<br />
sources, which are gratefully acknowledged.<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 19
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
His<strong>to</strong>rical Locations<br />
<strong>London</strong>, with its rich his<strong>to</strong>ric and<br />
cultural heritage, has long been a<br />
major <strong>to</strong>urist centre. Buildings like<br />
Buckingham Palace, the Houses<br />
of Parliament, Westminster<br />
Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, the<br />
Tower of <strong>London</strong> are visited<br />
and pho<strong>to</strong>graphed daily by<br />
thousands of sightseers. There<br />
is an abundance of museums, art<br />
galleries and theatres and those<br />
with a particular interest are<br />
equally well catered for, whether<br />
it be railway stations, river travel<br />
or sporting arenas.<br />
For the table tennis enthusiast,<br />
many of the sites associated with<br />
the formative years of the sport<br />
are located within quite a small<br />
central area of the capital. Not<br />
all of the buildings have survived<br />
the ravages of wartime bombing<br />
and urban development but<br />
others can still be seen, some very<br />
little changed from their original<br />
condition.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
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Pho<strong>to</strong>: www.hmtickets.com Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
The Stadium Club<br />
Alexandra Palace<br />
The Stadium Club in Holborn started life<br />
in 1867 as the New Royal Amphitheatre.<br />
It ceased operating as a theatre in<br />
1887 and was converted in<strong>to</strong> the West<br />
Central Hall, subsequently <strong>to</strong> be known<br />
as the Holborn Stadium and finally as<br />
the Stadium Club.<br />
The finals of the first Daily Mirror<br />
national table tennis <strong>to</strong>urnament were<br />
staged there in 1923 and it was used<br />
for the ceremonial opening of the ITTF<br />
Foundation Meeting in 1926. In the<br />
1920s and 1930s it accommodated a<br />
variety of sports, particularly boxing,<br />
until it was destroyed by bombing<br />
during World War Two.<br />
The Alexandra Palace was built in<br />
1873 as a public centre of recreation,<br />
education and entertainment, North<br />
<strong>London</strong>’s equivalent <strong>to</strong> the Crystal<br />
Palace in South <strong>London</strong>. In the 1900s<br />
it was one of <strong>London</strong>’s most popular<br />
table tennis venues and a number of<br />
large <strong>to</strong>urnaments <strong>to</strong>ok place there.<br />
It became in 1936 the headquarters of<br />
the world’s first regular public television<br />
service operated by the BBC and the<br />
original transmission <strong>to</strong>wer has been<br />
retained. It is still in use, now mainly as<br />
an exhibition and conference centre.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 21
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The Royal Aquarium<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: website st.bride.org Pho<strong>to</strong>: Wikipedia<br />
The St Bride Institute<br />
The Royal Aquarium was a recreational<br />
complex, opened in 1876, which included,<br />
in addition <strong>to</strong> the aquarium, a theatre,<br />
an art gallery, a skating rink and several<br />
halls which could be hired; its main hall<br />
was 100 metres long and 50 metres<br />
wide. The English Championships were<br />
held there in 1902 and 1903. However,<br />
it was not the success its founders had<br />
hoped. The building closed at the end of<br />
1903 and the site, just off Vic<strong>to</strong>ria Street<br />
in Westminster, is now occupied by the<br />
Methodist Central Hall.<br />
The St Bride Institute was set up in Bride<br />
Lane, a turning off Fleet Street, in 1891<br />
as a cultural and social centre for the<br />
local community. It was intended primarily<br />
for those working in the printing<br />
trade, which was the main occupation in<br />
the area. It contains a number of halls<br />
in which various sports were played,<br />
as well as a swimming pool which was<br />
boarded over during the winter and<br />
which provided space for activities such<br />
as table tennis, which continued <strong>to</strong> be<br />
played there until the late 1980s. Now<br />
managed by the St Bride Foundation,<br />
the building provides facilities for conferences<br />
and theatrical activities, as well<br />
as housing a comprehensive library of<br />
printing related material.<br />
22<br />
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The George Hotel<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: www.deadpubs.co.uk<br />
The George Hotel in the Strand was the<br />
setting for the meeting held in 1925<br />
that resulted in the dissolution of the<br />
revived Ping Pong Association and its<br />
immediate re-birth as the Table Tennis<br />
Association, which later became the<br />
English Table Tennis Association. It is<br />
still open, and is now known as “The<br />
George on the Strand”.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
28 Kensing<strong>to</strong>n Court<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
No. 28 Kensing<strong>to</strong>n Court was the home<br />
of Ivor Montagu’s father, Lord Swaythling,<br />
until his death in 1927. It was<br />
here that the Foundation Meeting of<br />
the International Table Tennis Federation<br />
was held on 12th December 1926.<br />
Kensing<strong>to</strong>n Court is now an area of diplomatic<br />
activity, with the embassies of<br />
several countries located there; No. 28 is<br />
still residential but in the form of luxury<br />
apartments.<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 23
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The Memorial Hall<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
The Memorial Hall was built by the<br />
Congregationalists in 1872 on the<br />
former site of the no<strong>to</strong>rious Fleet Prison<br />
in Farringdon Street. The Labour Party<br />
was founded there at a conference held<br />
in the main hall 26th – 27th February<br />
1900 and in 1926 it was chosen as the<br />
main venue for the inaugural World<br />
Championships. The building was<br />
demolished in 1969 <strong>to</strong> be replaced by an<br />
office block, which was re-built in 2007<br />
and is now known as Ludgate West.<br />
The Indian Student Hostel<br />
The Indian Student Hostel was founded by the YMCA in 1920 and was originally<br />
housed in a large hut - the “Shakespeare Hut” - opposite the Senate House of<br />
<strong>London</strong> University. After three years it was relocated <strong>to</strong> a permanent building<br />
in Gower Street, where several matches of the 1926 World Championships were<br />
played. The inaugural General Meeting of the English Table Tennis Association was<br />
held in this building in April 1927. In 1940 it was badly damaged by bombing but<br />
was later res<strong>to</strong>red and greatly extended. It now provides an extensive range of<br />
services for Indian students in <strong>London</strong>.<br />
24<br />
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The Imperial Institute<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: The Vic<strong>to</strong>rian Web<br />
The Imperial Institute was established in<br />
1887 <strong>to</strong> promote “the arts, manufactures<br />
and commerce of the Queen’s Colonial<br />
and Indian Empire” and initially its<br />
activities were directed mainly <strong>to</strong><br />
scientific research that supported<br />
industrial and commercial development.<br />
From 1893 the Institute was located in a<br />
large building in Exhibition Road, South<br />
Kensing<strong>to</strong>n but the running costs proved<br />
<strong>to</strong> be more than the Institute could<br />
afford and in 1899 half of the building<br />
was taken over by <strong>London</strong> University. It<br />
was demolished in the 1950s <strong>to</strong> make<br />
way for the present Imperial College;<br />
the 85-metre Queen’s Tower is now<br />
the only remaining part of the original<br />
building.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The Royal Albert Hall<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
The Royal Albert Hall is in Kensing<strong>to</strong>n<br />
Gore, directly opposite Hyde Park. It<br />
was originally <strong>to</strong> have been called the<br />
Central Hall of Arts and Sciences but<br />
when Queen Vic<strong>to</strong>ria opened it in 1871<br />
the name was changed <strong>to</strong> the Royal<br />
Albert Hall, as a dedication <strong>to</strong> her late<br />
husband. It is still one of <strong>London</strong>’s main<br />
concert halls and is in continual use for<br />
activities ranging from classical music<br />
concerts <strong>to</strong> indoor tennis.<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 25
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
WORLD<br />
CHAMPIONSHIPS<br />
Monday 6th – Saturday 12th<br />
December<br />
1926<br />
Ivor Montagu had gained the support of<br />
his colleagues at the English Table Tennis<br />
Association for England <strong>to</strong> host the inaugural<br />
Championships by guaranteeing <strong>to</strong> cover any<br />
losses up <strong>to</strong> £300, an amount he had recently<br />
inherited from his grandfather.<br />
It must be remembered that currency has<br />
been greatly devalued since 1926 and<br />
this was the equivalent of about £15,000<br />
<strong>to</strong>day, a substantial commitment for<br />
someone who was still only 22 years<br />
old. The actual deficit proved <strong>to</strong> be<br />
only half of this amount but the fact<br />
that he was prepared <strong>to</strong> sustain such<br />
a loss personally shows how dedicated<br />
he was <strong>to</strong> furthering the interests of<br />
international table tennis.<br />
It had been agreed at the conference in<br />
Berlin that invitations <strong>to</strong> take part would<br />
be sent <strong>to</strong> Austria, Czechoslovakia,<br />
“By decision of the<br />
International Table<br />
Tennis Federation,<br />
Tuesday December 7th<br />
1926, Events II, III, IV<br />
and V at the <strong>London</strong><br />
Congress Tournament<br />
carry with them the<br />
World Championships<br />
Titles for 1926-7.”<br />
Lady Gladys Swaythling,<br />
donor of Swaythling Cup<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
26<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
Programme<br />
Cover<br />
England, Germany, Hungary, India,<br />
Sweden, Wales “and such other Nations<br />
as may before November 1st be accepted<br />
by majority vote of the above named”.<br />
No replies were received from any but<br />
the named Associations but of these all<br />
except Sweden sent teams. However,<br />
a Swedish player entered the men’s<br />
singles and Sweden was represented<br />
by a delegate at the Foundation<br />
Meeting held in conjunction with the<br />
Championships.<br />
An organising committee was formed,<br />
consisting of Ivor Montagu, who was<br />
also <strong>to</strong> be the Referee, Bill Pope, then<br />
the Secretary of the English Association,<br />
and Philip Warden, a founder member<br />
with Bromfield and Payne of the revived<br />
Ping Pong Association.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
Programme<br />
In spite of their organising duties both<br />
Ivor and Bill<br />
felt able <strong>to</strong><br />
play in the<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnament<br />
but, perhaps<br />
fortunately,<br />
neither of<br />
them survived<br />
the first round<br />
of the men’s<br />
singles.<br />
Ivor lost <strong>to</strong> Raja<br />
Gopal Suppiah<br />
of India, who<br />
went on <strong>to</strong><br />
reach the semifinals,<br />
and Bill<br />
lost <strong>to</strong> Zoltan<br />
Mechlovits<br />
of Hungary, the eventual runnerup.<br />
Furthermore, they were no more<br />
successful in the men’s doubles, with<br />
different partners, again losing in round<br />
one. Warden entered only the minor<br />
men’s singles but he <strong>to</strong>o was eliminated<br />
in his first played match.<br />
It had been clear from the initial meeting<br />
in Berlin that the primary purpose was<br />
<strong>to</strong> stage an international men’s team<br />
competition and that the individual<br />
events were of secondary importance;<br />
this was reflected in the schedule. The<br />
Championships ran from Monday 6th <strong>to</strong><br />
Friday 11th December and the individual<br />
events did not start until Thursday 10th<br />
December.<br />
The organisers had originally supposed<br />
that there would be only singles events,<br />
as doubles were seldom played in<br />
English <strong>to</strong>urnaments but it turned out<br />
that they were popular in most of the<br />
other countries taking part, so men’s<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 27
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
28<br />
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<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 29
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
The team event was played as a group<br />
in which every team played every other,<br />
with individual matches the best of three<br />
games. All individual matches were<br />
played in each team match, which did<br />
not, as is now usual, end when one team<br />
had won a majority. Individual events<br />
were simple knock-outs, with matches<br />
the best of five in the men’ singles and<br />
doubles and the best of three in other<br />
events.<br />
Roland Jacobi, 1926 Men’s<br />
Singles Champion<br />
and mixed doubles events were duly<br />
included.<br />
The original decision <strong>to</strong> call the <strong>to</strong>urnament<br />
the European Championships was<br />
rescinded at the opening session of the<br />
Foundation meeting; the programme,<br />
still showing the European title, contains<br />
the following note:“By decision of the<br />
International Table Tennis Federation,<br />
Tuesday December 7th 1926. Events II <strong>to</strong><br />
V were, respectively, the men’s singles,<br />
ladies’ singles, men’s doubles and mixed<br />
doubles and it is not clear why the team<br />
events were not included. However, the<br />
Minutes of the Foundation meeting said<br />
that it was <strong>to</strong> be recognised as “the sole<br />
international match for men’s teams”.<br />
The <strong>to</strong>urnament was conducted in<br />
accordance with the Laws of the English<br />
Association which were, in any case, used<br />
by most of the competing Associations.<br />
The majority of matches <strong>to</strong>ok place in<br />
the Memorial Hall, Farringdon but a<br />
few <strong>to</strong>ok place in other <strong>London</strong> venues.<br />
Ivor Montagu recalled: “We did the<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnament pretty well in style, with<br />
the play held in the old Memorial Hall<br />
at Farringdon Street, first floor; special<br />
stands put in by Beck & Pollitzer <strong>to</strong> hold<br />
several hundreds of specta<strong>to</strong>rs; a posh<br />
champagne party for diplomats <strong>to</strong> do<br />
the draw beforehand; and the general<br />
press at last paying some attention <strong>to</strong><br />
our sport, even The Times sending its<br />
correspondent <strong>to</strong> the finals”.<br />
Bill Pope, writing in the 1938 World<br />
Championships programme, remembered<br />
it rather differently: “The Memorial<br />
Hall holds under 1,000 specta<strong>to</strong>rs,<br />
but we <strong>to</strong>ok up all the centre space<br />
with four tables. Two rows of chairs ran<br />
around the walls, but we were never<br />
inconvenienced by these being packed.<br />
I remember in the final match we removed<br />
three tables and appealed <strong>to</strong> the<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>to</strong> bring their chairs around<br />
the one table”.<br />
The opening match, between England<br />
and India, was played on Monday 6th<br />
December at the premises of the Herga<br />
Lawn Tennis Club in Harrow, a northwest<br />
suburb of <strong>London</strong>. India had been<br />
regarded as one of the favourites <strong>to</strong> win<br />
the team event, as its players had been<br />
30<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
outstandingly successful in <strong>to</strong>urnaments<br />
in the previous season but the result<br />
was closer than expected. They won<br />
5-4, mainly because Percy Bromfield, the<br />
English No. 1, failed <strong>to</strong> win even a single<br />
game. He was dropped for the next<br />
match, against Austria, which England<br />
won by the same score.<br />
Meanwhile Hungary demonstrated its<br />
strength, easily defeating India, England<br />
and Wales. Its team included both<br />
Roland Jacobi and Zoltan Mechlovits,<br />
who were later <strong>to</strong> contest the final<br />
of the men’s singles; they each lost<br />
only one individual match in the team<br />
competition, both <strong>to</strong> the same player,<br />
Paul Flussmann of Austria.<br />
Czechoslovakia’s only success was a<br />
five-four win over Germany, who won<br />
no matches and these two teams both<br />
ended in the bot<strong>to</strong>m places of the group.<br />
Wales lost <strong>to</strong> Austria and Hungary but<br />
defeated Czechoslovakia and Germany<br />
and lost only narrowly <strong>to</strong> England and<br />
India.<br />
make Hungary the first holders of the<br />
Swaythling Cup.<br />
There were 64 entries in the men’s<br />
singles, where there appears <strong>to</strong> have<br />
been some curious seeding. There were<br />
six first round matches in which both<br />
players were listed as national seeds,<br />
but nine in which neither player was<br />
seeded.<br />
The quarter-finalists in the men’s singles<br />
comprised three Indians, Fyzee, Suppiah<br />
and Ernest, two Hungarians, Mechlovits<br />
and Jacobi, two Austrians, Pillinger<br />
and Freudenheim - the latter having<br />
reached this stage by means of a series<br />
of walkovers - and a Welsh player, B.<br />
Penny.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The final group match between Hungary<br />
and Austria was not decided until the<br />
last possible game of the last individual<br />
match, in which Munio Pillinger of<br />
Austria beat Dani Pecsi of Hungary 21-<br />
19. It meant that Austria and Hungary<br />
led the group with five wins each,<br />
somewhat <strong>to</strong> the embarrassment of the<br />
organisers, who had not foreseen this<br />
possibility.<br />
They had <strong>to</strong> arrange a play-off match<br />
at the Memorial Hall on Monday<br />
13th December. Hungary’s team was<br />
weakened by the absence of Jacobi,<br />
who had had <strong>to</strong> return home owing<br />
<strong>to</strong> the death of his father but his<br />
replacement, Bela von Kehrling, won<br />
the deciding match against Pillinger <strong>to</strong><br />
Maria Mednyanszky, 1926<br />
Women’s Singles Champion<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 31
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Advertisement for 1926 World Championships<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Table Tennis 1926<br />
In one semi-final Mechlovits defeated<br />
Suppiah in straight games; in the<br />
other, Jacobi had a somewhat harder<br />
match against Pillinger but eventually<br />
won three-one. The final was widely<br />
acclaimed as an example of <strong>to</strong>p-class<br />
table tennis and the difference in skill<br />
between the two players was probably<br />
less than is suggested by Jacobi’s winning<br />
score of three-nil. In the all-Hungarian<br />
men’s doubles final Jacobi and his<br />
partner Dani Pecsi beat Mechlovits and<br />
von Kehrling three-one.<br />
The ladies’ singles attracted only 16<br />
entries and two of these withdrew<br />
before the event. Here the seeding<br />
seems <strong>to</strong> have been dealt with more<br />
rationally than in the men’s singles, with<br />
one seeded player in each quarter. In<br />
the semi-finals Dolly Gubbins of Wales<br />
convincingly beat Mrs Flussman of<br />
Austria but England’s Wendy Land lost<br />
equally easily <strong>to</strong> Maria Mednyansky of<br />
Hungary. In the final Mednyansky beat<br />
Gubbins two-nil and, in partnership<br />
with Mechlovits, she won also the mixed<br />
doubles title. The men’s minor singles,<br />
an event open <strong>to</strong> other than the <strong>to</strong>p<br />
four seeded players of each Association,<br />
was won by Pillinger. He beat Frank<br />
Lawes of England.<br />
32<br />
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The final accounts showed that the<br />
cost of the Championships had been<br />
£352, equivalent <strong>to</strong> about £18,000<br />
<strong>to</strong>day. In broad terms, the main items<br />
of expenditure were £140 for the<br />
visi<strong>to</strong>rs’ travel and accommodation,<br />
£100 for printing, postage and other<br />
administrative costs and £75 for the hire<br />
of the Memorial Hall. The income from<br />
ticket sales and programmes was about<br />
£95 and that from entry fees was about<br />
£55.<br />
Another £50 was received in miscellaneous<br />
donations but by far the biggest<br />
contributions were from Ivor Montagu<br />
and his family, his mother donating<br />
the Swaythling Cup, his father hosting<br />
free the Foundation Meeting and Ivor<br />
making up the deficit from his personal<br />
funds.<br />
Those in the English Association who<br />
had initially been so apprehensive about<br />
the magnitude of the project, now<br />
recognised the significance of what had<br />
been achieved and the Conference in<br />
the following year, at which the English<br />
Table Tennis Association was formally<br />
established, passed with acclamation<br />
the following resolution:<br />
“That this Conference places on record<br />
its cordial appreciation of the work done<br />
in connection with the International<br />
Tournament by the Hon. Ivor Montagu<br />
and thanks him for the financial<br />
provision made by him which ensured<br />
the success of this his<strong>to</strong>ric competition.”<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
Ivor Montagu,<br />
Referee for the 1926<br />
World Championships<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 33
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
WORLD<br />
CHAMPIONSHIPS<br />
Friday 8th – Friday 15th<br />
February<br />
1935<br />
A contemporary journal, “Tennis<br />
Illustrated” reported “the crowds thronging<br />
the courts at South Kensing<strong>to</strong>n were<br />
reminiscent of Wimbledon and this<br />
support and the interest at Wembley,<br />
challenges comparison with finals<br />
day on the centre court there.”<br />
34<br />
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Vic<strong>to</strong>r Barna (Hungary)<br />
Crowned Men’s Singles<br />
World Champion for the fifth<br />
time<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
By 1935 the membership of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation had<br />
more than doubled since its foundation<br />
in 1926 and this was reflected by a substantial<br />
increase in the numbers competing<br />
at the World Championships.<br />
New events had been added - in 1928<br />
women’s doubles and in 1933 a women’s<br />
team competition for the Corbillon<br />
Cup. The numbers of players in individual<br />
events had been raised <strong>to</strong> 128 in the<br />
men’s singles and 64 in all other events.<br />
New standards of organisation and presentation<br />
had been set by subsequent<br />
championships in S<strong>to</strong>ckholm, Budapest,<br />
Berlin, Prague, Baden and Paris. It<br />
was clear that the 1935 Championships<br />
would be a much more demanding project<br />
than the inaugural one had been.<br />
Initially the task was <strong>to</strong> find a playing<br />
hall. There was at that time no arena<br />
in <strong>London</strong> set up for the playing of<br />
indoor sports such as table tennis and it<br />
would almost certainly be necessary <strong>to</strong><br />
provide for the temporary installation<br />
of suitable flooring and lighting.<br />
There were several buildings in which<br />
this could be done but most of them<br />
were not designed <strong>to</strong> accommodate<br />
large numbers of specta<strong>to</strong>rs and it was<br />
decided eventually <strong>to</strong> use two venues.<br />
Marie Kettnerova<br />
(Czechoslovakia)<br />
World Champion in 1934,<br />
title retained in 1935<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 35
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: The Vic<strong>to</strong>rian Web<br />
The Imperial Institute<br />
The team events and the initial rounds<br />
of individual events would be played<br />
on eight tables at the Imperial Institute<br />
building in South Kensing<strong>to</strong>n, which<br />
could accommodate up <strong>to</strong> 3,000<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>rs. The individual finals would<br />
be staged at the Empire Pool and Sports<br />
Arena in Wembley, where there were<br />
about 12,000 seats.<br />
In 1924 the British Empire Exhibition<br />
had been staged in Wembley, a northwestern<br />
suburb of <strong>London</strong>.<br />
Arthur Elvin, who had bought the<br />
Stadium, which had been the centrepiece<br />
of the Exhibition, wanted <strong>to</strong> develop<br />
the site as a multi-sport complex and<br />
in 1933 he built the Empire Pool and<br />
Sports Arena.<br />
It hosted the 1934 Empire Games and in<br />
1948 was the location for the Olympic<br />
swimming and boxing competitions.<br />
The swimming pool which gave the<br />
building its name could be boarded<br />
over and used for other sports. It was<br />
here that the finals of the 1935, 1938,<br />
1948 and 1954 World Table Tennis<br />
Championships were played. In 1977 a<br />
Conference Centre was added and in<br />
1978 it acquired its present name of<br />
“Wembley Arena”.<br />
As had happened in 1926, some<br />
members of the English Table Tennis<br />
Association’s Executive Committee were<br />
apprehensive at the likely expense of<br />
the Championships and their worries<br />
must have increased as it became clear<br />
that the original estimates were <strong>to</strong>o low.<br />
36<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
It had been expected that 12 National<br />
Associations would enter players but<br />
the number was actually 18, with a<br />
consequent 50% increase in the cost of<br />
hospitality.<br />
In addition <strong>to</strong> the expected costs of<br />
flooring, lighting and screening of<br />
windows <strong>to</strong> exclude daylight, it cost<br />
£550 <strong>to</strong> set up at the Imperial Institute<br />
a “centre court” with seating for<br />
2,000, equivalent <strong>to</strong> about £9,000<br />
<strong>to</strong>day. However, it was agreed that<br />
once the commitment had been<br />
undertaken everything possible must<br />
be done <strong>to</strong> make the Championships a<br />
success; doubts were put aside and the<br />
organisation went ahead.<br />
The men’s team competition was played<br />
as two groups, with the group winners<br />
playing each other in the final. In group<br />
one the Hungarian team was unbeaten,<br />
winning 40 individual matches and<br />
losing only five. Czechoslovakia won<br />
group two, also unbeaten, although<br />
their vic<strong>to</strong>ries were not achieved quite<br />
as easily as were those of Hungary. The<br />
final was won five-three by Hungary,<br />
although the games were very close and<br />
both teams at times held the lead.<br />
There was only one group in the<br />
women’s team event; a tie between<br />
Czechoslovakia and Hungary being the<br />
end result. The play-off was won threeone<br />
by Czechoslovakia, giving them<br />
the Corbillon Cup for the first time. For<br />
England, the success of the organisation<br />
was not matched by the performance<br />
of their players, who in both team<br />
competitions did not finish high enough<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
The Programme<br />
for the 1935 World Championships<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 37
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
in their groups <strong>to</strong> gain a place in the<br />
play-offs. In the men’s singles, the only<br />
non-seeded player <strong>to</strong> reach the quarterfinals<br />
was Maurice Bergl, the youngest<br />
member of the English team. In his<br />
quarter-final match against Kohn of<br />
Austria he led by two games <strong>to</strong> one and<br />
13-2 in the fourth. He extended his lead<br />
<strong>to</strong> 19-12 but inexplicably lost that game<br />
19-21 and the next game 9-21.<br />
Meanwhile, in the other quarter-finals,<br />
the Hungarians Miklos Szabados and<br />
Vic<strong>to</strong>r Barna beat Miroslav Hamr of<br />
Czechoslovakia and Stanislas Kolar of<br />
Czechoslovakia respectively, while Poland’s<br />
Aloisjy Ehrlich defeated Laszlo<br />
Bellak of Hungary. The final between<br />
Szabados and Barna was closely fought,<br />
the eventual winner being Barna by<br />
three games <strong>to</strong> two. In the men’s doubles,<br />
the men’s singles finalists formed<br />
the winning pair, beating Adrian Haydon<br />
of England and Austria’s Alfred Liebster.<br />
In the women’s singles quarter-finals,<br />
Magda Gal of Hungary beat Astrid<br />
Krebsbach of Germany, Marie Smidova<br />
of Czechoslovakia overcame Connie<br />
Whea<strong>to</strong>n of England, Marie Kettnerova<br />
of Czechoslovakia defeated Margaret<br />
Osborne, also from England while Miss<br />
Delacour of France accounted for Gertrude<br />
Kleinova of Czechoslovakia.<br />
Mednyansky and Anna Sipos defeating<br />
Kettnerova and Smidova. Meanwhile,<br />
Vic<strong>to</strong>r Barna completed a clean sweep<br />
of available titles. He won the mixed<br />
doubles in partnership with Anna<br />
Sipos, the runners-up being Kolar and<br />
Kettnerova.<br />
Many people had been doubtful at<br />
first that the Championships would<br />
attract much public support but in the<br />
weeks building up <strong>to</strong> the starting date<br />
it became apparent that there was<br />
enormous interest and the attendance<br />
proved <strong>to</strong> be beyond all expectations.<br />
The Treasurer of the English Table<br />
Tennis Association reported at the<br />
1935 Annual General Meeting that the<br />
<strong>to</strong>tal attendance had been over 20,000,<br />
whereas never before had more than<br />
1,000 people attended a table tennis<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnament in England.<br />
A contemporary journal, “Tennis Illustrated”<br />
reported “the crowds thronging<br />
the courts at South Kensing<strong>to</strong>n were<br />
reminiscent of Wimbledon and this support<br />
and the interest at Wembley, challenges<br />
comparison with finals day on<br />
the centre court there.”<br />
The final deficit, just over £500, was<br />
less than had been feared and it was<br />
considered that the money had been<br />
well spent in the cause of table tennis.<br />
The final was between Gal and Kettnerova,<br />
who had both won their semi-finals<br />
three-nil against Smidova and Delacour<br />
respectively.<br />
The final was acclaimed in the press as<br />
one of the finest women’s matches ever<br />
seen, with Gal winning the first game<br />
but Kettnerova taking the next three<br />
<strong>to</strong> gain the title. The women’s doubles<br />
was another success for Hungary, Maria<br />
38<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
WORLD<br />
CHAMPIONSHIPS<br />
Monday 24th – Monday 11st<br />
January<br />
1938<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Trude Pritzi (Austria)<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 39
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The 1935 experiment of playing all<br />
matches but the individual finals at a<br />
central <strong>London</strong> location had proved successful<br />
but specta<strong>to</strong>r seating had been<br />
costly <strong>to</strong> install at the Imperial Institute<br />
and the 2,000 places provided had not,<br />
in any case, been really sufficient for<br />
the numbers attending. It was decided,<br />
therefore, <strong>to</strong> stage the preliminary<br />
rounds of the 1938 Championships at a<br />
venue which, although more expensive<br />
<strong>to</strong> hire, already had adequate seating.<br />
The choice was the Royal Albert Hall, in<br />
South Kensing<strong>to</strong>n, which could accommodate<br />
an attendance of over 6,000.<br />
Particular efforts were made in the<br />
area of publicity. Over 10,000 posters<br />
and more than 100,000 handbills were<br />
produced and distributed; in addition<br />
80,000 envelopes were addressed<br />
and posted. During play, there were<br />
also officials responsible for supplying<br />
journalists regularly with exclusive<br />
items of news and up-<strong>to</strong>-date results.<br />
The referee, in a tribute <strong>to</strong> the contribution<br />
of the volunteers, mentioned<br />
the variety of duties that had been undertaken,<br />
from escorting visi<strong>to</strong>rs and<br />
their luggage <strong>to</strong> their hotels <strong>to</strong> making<br />
sure that players arrived at the right<br />
time and right table for their matches.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Royal Albert Hall<br />
The organisation of the Championships<br />
was a project far greater than<br />
anything that had previously been attempted<br />
in English table tennis. Over<br />
600 people were involved and the cost<br />
would have been prohibitive had not<br />
every one of them been a volunteer.<br />
In addition <strong>to</strong> those responsible for<br />
the conduct of play once it had started,<br />
there were committees <strong>to</strong> deal beforehand<br />
with hotels, seating, prizes,<br />
programmes and many more <strong>to</strong>pics.<br />
Language was a particular problem as it<br />
was not always possible <strong>to</strong> find an interpreter<br />
at short notice. One official had<br />
the problem of explaining <strong>to</strong> a foreign<br />
captain who did not speak English, largely<br />
by means of sign language, that a fire<br />
alarm box was not the correct place in<br />
which <strong>to</strong> post a letter home. In spite of<br />
all the difficulties, the programme was<br />
completed on schedule and the outcome<br />
amply justified the efforts of those who<br />
had worked so hard <strong>to</strong> achieve success.<br />
It was the first World Championships<br />
played since an important change <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Laws had been introduced - the reduction<br />
of the height of the net from 6.75 inches<br />
<strong>to</strong> 6 inches. A contemporary report says<br />
that “the outstanding feature of the<br />
championships was the remarkable success<br />
of the lower net as an aid <strong>to</strong> attack.<br />
Unenterprising play is now practically<br />
dead and, with one or two exceptions,<br />
‘hitting <strong>to</strong> glory’ was the general rule”.<br />
In retrospect, this claim was somewhat<br />
premature, but certainly it was true of<br />
the men’s singles at the 1938 Championships,<br />
where Richard Bergmann<br />
40<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
of Austria was the only mainly defensive<br />
player <strong>to</strong> reach the later stages.<br />
There were two groups of eight men’s<br />
teams in the Swaythling Cup competition.<br />
In group one, Austria lost only <strong>to</strong><br />
England, England lost only <strong>to</strong> the U.S.A.<br />
and the U.S.A. lost only <strong>to</strong> Austria. Poland,<br />
which had been considered one of<br />
the strongest teams in the group, lost <strong>to</strong><br />
Austria, the U.S.A. and, for the first time,<br />
<strong>to</strong> England. Therefore, the end result<br />
was a triple tie and a play-off was organised<br />
<strong>to</strong> decide the final group positions.<br />
Austria and the U.S.A. easily beat England,<br />
while Austria defeated the U.S.A.<br />
five-three <strong>to</strong> become the group winners.<br />
The replay of the match between Austria<br />
and the U.S.A. produced some spectacular<br />
table tennis. In his match against<br />
Sol Schiff, Bergmann won the first game<br />
22-20 and lost the second 18-21. In the<br />
third game Schiff, one of the hardest hitters<br />
in the world, kept up the attack but<br />
Bergmann seemed <strong>to</strong> be able <strong>to</strong> retrieve<br />
the ball from any angle and in the end<br />
it was Schiff who weakened, losing 7-21.<br />
The result of group two was much more<br />
clear-cut, with Hungary winning all of<br />
their matches, although they had some<br />
anxious moments against both Czechoslovakia<br />
and France. The final was held<br />
in the Royal Albert Hall on Monday 31st<br />
January, when Hungary beat Austria<br />
<strong>to</strong> regain the title they had last held<br />
in 1935. The women’s team winners<br />
were Czechoslovakia, who won all of<br />
their matches, seven of them without<br />
losing an individual match. Their only<br />
close matches were against Austria<br />
and Hungary, where the scores were<br />
three-one and three-two respectively.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Vana Bohumil<br />
The men’s singles finalists were Bergmann<br />
of Austria and Bohumil Vana of<br />
Czechoslovakia. In the first game they<br />
seemed evenly matched, with first one<br />
then the other taking the lead and<br />
Bergmann eventually winning 22-20.<br />
However, in the second Vana completely<br />
changed his game and went<br />
on all-out attack, leaping about the<br />
playing area <strong>to</strong> ensure being in the<br />
best position for his powerful forehand<br />
hit. Bergmann was taken by surprise<br />
and, in spite of some spectacular<br />
retrieving, he lost the game 9-21.<br />
In the next two games Vana continued<br />
<strong>to</strong> attack, albeit more cautiously. He won<br />
both <strong>to</strong> gain his first world title. It was<br />
suggested afterwards that Bergmann<br />
had made a mistake in keeping <strong>to</strong> defensive<br />
play rather than making use of<br />
his own attacking capability but perhaps<br />
Vana’s extraordinary speed and agility<br />
did not give him the opportunity <strong>to</strong> do so.<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 41
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Conversely, the women’s singles final<br />
between Czechoslovakia’s Vlasta<br />
Depetrisova and Trude Pritzi of Austria<br />
was very disappointing. In the first<br />
game Depetrisova tried but failed, <strong>to</strong><br />
hit Pritzi off the table. However, when<br />
Pritzi’s defence proved <strong>to</strong>o good for<br />
her she reverted <strong>to</strong> just keeping the<br />
ball in play and the match dragged<br />
on, <strong>to</strong> the irritation of specta<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
The winner was Pritzi three-nil but for<br />
the first time in England both players<br />
were booed and every attacking<br />
shot, however mild, was sarcastically<br />
applauded. The women’s doubles, between<br />
the Hungarian pair Dora Beregi<br />
and Ida Ferenczy against the Czechoslovaks<br />
Vera Votrubcova and Depetrisova<br />
was more entertaining. All were natural<br />
attackers and the games were close,<br />
Votrubcova and Depetrisova winning<br />
the match 25-23, 21-13, 18-21, 21-18.<br />
The men’s doubles produced one of<br />
the surprises of the Championships.<br />
On form, the Hungarian pair of Vic<strong>to</strong>r<br />
Barna and Laszlo Bellak was expected<br />
easily <strong>to</strong> beat Schiff and Jimmy<br />
McClure of the U.S.A. but the match<br />
went <strong>to</strong> a fifth game. In this game, after<br />
the Hungarians had led 15-10 and<br />
then 19-16, McClure hit six outright<br />
winners in the next seven rallies <strong>to</strong> win<br />
the game 22-20 and hence the match.<br />
Interior of the<br />
Royal Albert Hall<br />
the competition had proved <strong>to</strong> be<br />
a wise one. The problems of adapting<br />
a building not designed <strong>to</strong> accommodate<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>rs had been avoided<br />
and the greater number of seats<br />
available had led <strong>to</strong> a substantial increase<br />
in attendance throughout.<br />
Moreover, after the losses that had been<br />
incurred in 1926 and 1935, it was with<br />
some gratification that the ETTA Treasurer<br />
was able <strong>to</strong> report <strong>to</strong> the 1938 Annual<br />
General Meeting that there had been a<br />
profit of nearly £300 on the Championships,<br />
an achievement that few, if any,<br />
of his successors were likely <strong>to</strong> emulate.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
The result of the mixed doubles also<br />
was unexpected. Bellak, playing with<br />
Wendy Woodhead of England, beat<br />
Vana and Vera Votrubcova of Czechoslovakia.<br />
It was Bellak’s first World title,<br />
having been three times the losing<br />
finalist in the men’s singles event.<br />
Wendy Woodhead became the first<br />
English woman <strong>to</strong> hold a World title.<br />
The decision <strong>to</strong> change the venue for<br />
42<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
WORLD<br />
CHAMPIONSHIPS<br />
Wednesday 4th – Wednesday 11th<br />
February<br />
1948<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The request <strong>to</strong> do so was granted in 1947 and an<br />
Organising Committee was set up with Ivor<br />
Montagu as Chairman and Bill Pope as<br />
Secretary, posts that they had occupied<br />
for the 1926 Championships.<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 43
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Funds were low and there was a general<br />
air of austerity when the English Table<br />
Tennis Association returned <strong>to</strong> full operation<br />
after World War Two. Nevertheless,<br />
it was agreed that hosting the 1948<br />
World Championships would be a fitting<br />
way <strong>to</strong> celebrate the Association’s<br />
21st Anniversary.<br />
The request <strong>to</strong> do so was granted in<br />
1947 and an Organising Committee was<br />
set up with Ivor Montagu as Chairman<br />
and Bill Pope as Secretary, posts that<br />
they had occupied for the 1926 Championships.<br />
Other members with long experience<br />
included Godfrey Decker, the<br />
former Secretary of the English Table<br />
Tennis Association, and Corti Woodcock,<br />
donor in 1929 of the St Bride Vase.<br />
War damage had left central <strong>London</strong><br />
with a shortage of suitable halls and the<br />
decision was taken <strong>to</strong> stage the whole<br />
Championships in Wembley, at the Empire<br />
Pool and Sports Arena. Undoubtedly,<br />
this presented some difficulties,<br />
especially for Godfrey Decker, who was<br />
responsible for equipment.<br />
The level of lighting in the area was not<br />
considered adequate for table tennis<br />
and he was faced with the problem of<br />
providing for each of the eleven tables<br />
individual sets of lights, which had <strong>to</strong> be<br />
suspended from a roof some 25 metres<br />
high. The size of the playing area meant<br />
also that the normal score indica<strong>to</strong>rs<br />
were not large enough <strong>to</strong> be seen easily<br />
from the specta<strong>to</strong>r seats and special<br />
arrangements were needed <strong>to</strong> ensure<br />
that those watching could keep track<br />
of the play. Many National Associations<br />
were still suffering in one way or another<br />
from the effects of the war and<br />
there was some concern that the entry<br />
might not be sufficient <strong>to</strong> justify the<br />
costs but this fear proved groundless. A<br />
<strong>to</strong>tal of 25 countries entered teams for<br />
the Swaythling Cup competition and 16<br />
for the Corbillon Cup, more than ever<br />
before. The individual events also attracted<br />
record entries.<br />
In contrast, specta<strong>to</strong>r support for all but<br />
the individual finals was disappointing<br />
owing largely, it was believed, <strong>to</strong> transport<br />
difficulties. In those days petrol for<br />
private cars was strictly rationed and<br />
around the time of the Championships<br />
the allowance was temporarily suspended<br />
al<strong>to</strong>gether, so that those who had<br />
planned <strong>to</strong> drive <strong>to</strong> the venue were unable<br />
so <strong>to</strong> do. The result was that instead<br />
of the hoped-for profit, there was a loss<br />
of about £250, a substantial proportion<br />
of the English Table Tennis Association’s<br />
then funds.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Richard Bergmann (England) 1948<br />
World Men’s Singles champion<br />
44<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
The cover for the 1948<br />
World Championships<br />
Programme<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
Vana winning all three of his matches<br />
in two straight games and Andreadis<br />
beating Amouretti and Haguenauer.<br />
The only unsuccessful Czech player was<br />
Laszlo Stipek; he lost <strong>to</strong> both Bordrez<br />
and Haguenauer.<br />
There were two groups in the Corbillon<br />
Cup competition and these were won by<br />
England and Hungary; as in the men’s<br />
team competition, both were unbeaten<br />
in their groups, Hungary losing only one<br />
game in its seven matches. In the final<br />
England, who had first won this event in<br />
Paris in the previous year, beat Hungary<br />
three-one, Vera Thomas losing the only<br />
match <strong>to</strong> Gisi Farkas.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The Swaythling Cup competition was<br />
played in four groups, which were won<br />
by the U.S.A., Czechoslovakia, France<br />
and Austria, each of them being unbeaten<br />
in their own group. In the first semifinal<br />
between the U.S.A. and Czechoslovakia<br />
Richard Miles, who had not lost<br />
a game in the group, was beaten by<br />
both Ivan Andreadis and Bohumil Vana.<br />
Czechoslovakia won the match 5-2, their<br />
only defeats being sustained by Frantisek<br />
Tokar, who lost easily <strong>to</strong> both Miles<br />
and Garrett Nash.<br />
In the other semi-final France beat Austria<br />
even more decisively, with Guy Amouretti<br />
and Michel Haguenauer each winning<br />
twice and Maurice Bordrez once,<br />
Austria’s only success being Herbert<br />
Just’s defeat of Bordrez. The final was<br />
won five-two by Czechoslovakia, with<br />
It must have been particularly frustrating<br />
for Hungary that England’s success<br />
was due mainly <strong>to</strong> the efforts of a former<br />
Hungarian player, Dora Beregi. She<br />
had married an Englishman, John Trevanney<br />
and acquired British nationality;<br />
she won both of her singles matches<br />
two-nil and, in partnership with Vera<br />
Thomas, the doubles.<br />
The first quarter of the men’s singles<br />
included two players who, like Dora<br />
Beregi, had acquired British nationality.<br />
One was Vic<strong>to</strong>r Barna, who had won<br />
14 individual world titles between 1930<br />
and 1935 and who had six times been<br />
a member of the successful Hungarian<br />
Swaythling Cup team; the other was<br />
Richard Bergmann, twice a winner of<br />
the World men’s singles. He had played<br />
in the winning Austrian men’s team at<br />
the 1936 World Championships. In their<br />
quarter-finals, Bergmann beat Just but<br />
Barna lost <strong>to</strong> Andreadis.<br />
The third quarter-final between Miles<br />
and Vana was one of the most spectacular<br />
matches of the <strong>to</strong>urnament, with<br />
both players attacking throughout. Un-<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 45
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
The Empire Pool in <strong>London</strong><br />
der the regulations, either player could<br />
claim a five-minute rest period after the<br />
third game. Miles chose <strong>to</strong> do so when<br />
he was leading by two games <strong>to</strong> one. It<br />
was widely believed that this cost him<br />
the match, as the break disturbed the<br />
rhythm of his play. He was eventually<br />
beaten in five games.<br />
Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter-final,<br />
Amouretti of France was <strong>to</strong>o steady for<br />
Tokar, winning three-nil.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Gisi Farkas the 1948 Women’s Singles<br />
World Champion<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
Gisi Farkas,<br />
very much<br />
the pin up<br />
girl in 1948<br />
In the first semi-final, Andreadis played<br />
a consistent game of forehand drives,<br />
against which Bergmann at first tried<br />
occasional counter-attacks. However,<br />
when all of these were comfortably returned<br />
by Andreadis, he quickly reverted<br />
<strong>to</strong> the defensive style for which he<br />
was so well known and set out <strong>to</strong> wear<br />
Andreadis down.<br />
Nevertheless, Andreadis gained a two<br />
games <strong>to</strong> one lead and when in the<br />
fourth game the score was 9-4 in his favour<br />
he knew he had only <strong>to</strong> maintain<br />
that advantage until the time limit was<br />
reached <strong>to</strong> win the match. However, for<br />
some reason he chose instead <strong>to</strong> go for<br />
quick winners and proceeded <strong>to</strong> lose<br />
the next six points; his confidence gone,<br />
that game and then the match was lost.<br />
He was another victim of Bergmann’s<br />
extraordinary staying power. The other<br />
semi-final was more one-sided and, although<br />
Amouretti <strong>to</strong>ok the first game,<br />
Vana easily won the next three <strong>to</strong> produce<br />
the expected result.<br />
The men’s singles final was thus a repeat<br />
of the 1938 World men’s singles,<br />
when Vana had hit through Bergmann’s<br />
defence <strong>to</strong> gain the title but this time<br />
Bergmann had clearly decided on a different<br />
approach. From the start he went<br />
46<br />
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Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
Play in progress in the<br />
Wembley Arena<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
on the attack and Vana was 1-8 down<br />
almost before he realised what was happening.<br />
He lost that game but in the next he recovered<br />
some of his own attacking skill<br />
and levelled the match score. For the<br />
next two closely-fought games Bergmann<br />
played more defensively with<br />
only occasional counter-attacks but in<br />
the deciding game he once again <strong>to</strong>ok<br />
the initiative, alternating fierce drives<br />
with delicate drop shots. They changed<br />
ends at 10-4 <strong>to</strong> Bergmann and thereafter<br />
Vana was never really in contention;<br />
after two hours’ play Bergmann<br />
regained the title that he had last won<br />
in 1939.<br />
In the quarter-finals of the women’s singles,<br />
England’s Vera Thomas beat Trude<br />
Pritzi of Austria, who had been the<br />
champion in 1937 and 1938; Vera Pokorna<br />
(formerly Depetricova) of Czechoslovakia<br />
overcame Karpati of Hungary; Gisi<br />
Farkas also from Hungary accounted for<br />
the American Leah Thall and Angelica<br />
Rozeanu of Romania defeated the Scot<br />
Helen Elliott, the scores being three-nil<br />
in all four matches.<br />
Similarly, the scores in both semi-finals<br />
were also three-nil, with Thomas beating<br />
Pokorna and Farkas ending the<br />
hopes of Rozeanu. However, the latter<br />
At the 1948 World<br />
Championships Vic<strong>to</strong>r Barna<br />
Represented England<br />
match was decided in a very controversial<br />
way and many people thought that<br />
Rozeanu should have been the winner.<br />
Rozeanu won the first two games but<br />
Farkas defended grimly in the next two<br />
<strong>to</strong> even the score and in the final game<br />
they were so evenly matched that at the<br />
end of 20 minutes the score was 22-22.<br />
Under the “Time Limit” rule, they<br />
should have been warned at this stage<br />
that they would be allowed five minutes<br />
more and that the next point would decide<br />
the game, but the umpire failed <strong>to</strong><br />
give this warning. They played on until,<br />
after 26 minutes, the score reached 29-<br />
27 in favour of Farkas.<br />
She claimed the match but there was<br />
a protest and the matter was referred<br />
<strong>to</strong> the Jury. The Jury was <strong>to</strong>ld that after<br />
22-all Rozeanu had won what should<br />
have been the decisive point but it was<br />
decided that the match had been completed<br />
“irregularly” and so could not be<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 47
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
awarded <strong>to</strong> either player and must be<br />
replayed. It is the result of the replayed<br />
match, won clearly this time by Farkas,<br />
that appears in the records.<br />
In the final, Thomas managed <strong>to</strong> level<br />
the scores at two-all but in the fifth<br />
game the defence of Farkas was just <strong>to</strong>o<br />
good for her and the 1947 champion retained<br />
her title.<br />
A surprise in the men’s doubles was the<br />
performance of the non-playing captain<br />
of the English men’s team, Adrian<br />
Haydon. Now 37 years old, he had long<br />
since retired from serious international<br />
play but with Ferenc Soos of Hungary as<br />
his partner he reached the final, losing<br />
<strong>to</strong> the strong Czechoslovak pair of Vana<br />
and Stipek.<br />
The women’s doubles final was an all-<br />
British match, in which Peggy Franks<br />
and Vera Thomas beat Dora Beregi and<br />
Helen Elliott fairly comfortably threeone,<br />
but the mixed doubles was much<br />
more competitive. Richard Miles and<br />
Thelma Thall of the U.S.A. lost the first<br />
two games <strong>to</strong> Vana and Mrs Pokorna but<br />
Thall in particular fought back strongly<br />
and she and her partner went on <strong>to</strong> win<br />
three-two.<br />
lost <strong>to</strong> the eventual winner, Bernie Bernstein.<br />
In a later challenge match Bernstein<br />
was beaten by Dolly Evans, who<br />
had been unable <strong>to</strong> take part in the<br />
knock-out competition.<br />
An outstanding feature of the organisation<br />
was again the support given by the<br />
volunteer workers. The war had been<br />
over for only a few years and people<br />
were still struggling <strong>to</strong> return <strong>to</strong> normal<br />
life. There was real concern whether<br />
enough of them would be able and willing<br />
<strong>to</strong> contribute <strong>to</strong>wards the task of<br />
organisation but there need not have<br />
been any worries.<br />
The annual report of the English Table<br />
Tennis Association for 1947-1948 stated:<br />
“The thanks of the Association are due<br />
<strong>to</strong> those hundreds of table tennis fans<br />
who volunteered <strong>to</strong> work as stewards<br />
and umpires, some spending the whole<br />
of the time on the job, sacrificing their<br />
holidays and business interests <strong>to</strong> work<br />
for the success of the Championships”.<br />
An innovation in 1948 was the Jubilee<br />
Cup, a mixed singles event for men and<br />
women who had played in the inaugural<br />
Championships in 1926. The entrants<br />
included Zoltan Mechlovits, the 1928<br />
World men’s singles champion, and<br />
two former holders of the English Open<br />
women’s singles title, Kathleen Graves<br />
(formerly Berry) and Dolly Evans (formerly<br />
Gubbins).<br />
After his opponents in the first two<br />
rounds withdrew, Ivor Montagu reached<br />
the semi-finals of this event, where he<br />
48<br />
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World<br />
Championships<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Monday 5th - Wednesday - 14th<br />
April 1954<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 49
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The 1948 and 1954 World Championships<br />
had a common theme; the<br />
former had been held during the<br />
21st anniversary year of the English<br />
Table Tennis Association and the latter<br />
was <strong>to</strong> be the 21st time on which<br />
the Championships had been played.<br />
Members of the English Table Tennis<br />
Association’s Executive Committee<br />
were keen <strong>to</strong> host the event but<br />
knew it would be a substantial undertaking,<br />
so they submitted <strong>to</strong> the<br />
1952 Annual General Meeting a full<br />
statement of the expected costs and<br />
sought an indication of the extent <strong>to</strong><br />
which players, clubs and organisations<br />
were prepared <strong>to</strong> support the venture.<br />
To their relief, there was unanimous endorsement<br />
of the proposal; people were<br />
prepared not only <strong>to</strong> contribute <strong>to</strong> the<br />
cost but also <strong>to</strong> volunteer for the many<br />
duties entailed in staging the Championships.<br />
It was decided <strong>to</strong> proceed.<br />
The Empire Pool and Sports Arena<br />
had proved a very satisfac<strong>to</strong>ry venue<br />
for the 1948 Championships, as<br />
well as for several subsequent English<br />
Opens. Good relationships had<br />
been established with the management<br />
and it was the obvious choice.<br />
Once again there were eleven tables in<br />
use and this time each was managed by a<br />
team of three qualified umpires. In 1950<br />
the English Table Tennis Association<br />
had introduced the first national qualifying<br />
scheme for umpires and for many<br />
this was their first opportunity <strong>to</strong> officiate<br />
at an event of international status.<br />
There were also about 50 subsidiary<br />
officials. They under<strong>to</strong>ok such tasks<br />
as operating scoring machines, shepherding<br />
players <strong>to</strong> the correct tables<br />
and making sure that score cards were<br />
returned promptly. The overall result<br />
was that the playing arena was organised<br />
in a much more systematic manner<br />
than at the previous Championships.<br />
The entry was even larger than had been<br />
expected. Regulations at the time limited<br />
the number of players in the first rounds<br />
proper of the individual events, it was<br />
necessary in all events <strong>to</strong> have several<br />
qualifying rounds. There was similar over<br />
subscription in the men’s team event,<br />
where 12 countries had <strong>to</strong> play in qualifying<br />
groups of four <strong>to</strong> determine who<br />
would be drawn in<strong>to</strong> the main groups<br />
competing for the Swaythling Cup.<br />
Only in the women’s team event was it<br />
found possible <strong>to</strong> accept all of the entries<br />
direct in<strong>to</strong> the main competition. In both<br />
team events the winner was decided by a<br />
play-off among the three group winners.<br />
Group A of the men’s event was won by<br />
England, whose team included former<br />
World Champions Richard Bergmann<br />
and Johnny Leach. They were unbeaten<br />
but their match against France was much<br />
closer than the five-three score line suggests.<br />
Bergmann lost his first game<br />
against René Roothoft 5-21 but went on<br />
<strong>to</strong> win the next 18-12 under the timelimit<br />
rule. In the final game, with both<br />
players defending tenaciously, the score<br />
after 20 minutes was 5-5; it was then<br />
that Bergmann produced a series of brilliant<br />
attacking strokes, ending with a<br />
spectacular kill <strong>to</strong> win the decisive point.<br />
Meanwhile, group B was dominated by<br />
Japan. They won all their matches except<br />
the one against Hungary five-nil.<br />
In that match Ferenc Sido, the reigning<br />
World Champion, could not cope with<br />
the speed and directional changes of his<br />
Japanese opponents; he was beaten by<br />
both Ichiro Ogimura and Yoshie Tomita.<br />
50<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
In the key match of group C Czechoslovakia,<br />
although without Bohumil<br />
Vana, managed <strong>to</strong> defeat Yugoslavia<br />
five-three and won the group.<br />
The first play-off was between England<br />
and Japan and the superiority of the<br />
visi<strong>to</strong>rs was soon evident. Ogimura won<br />
all of his matches and Tomita beat Bergmann<br />
and Simons <strong>to</strong> make the final score<br />
five-two. In the second play-off, between<br />
Czechoslovakia and England, the English<br />
team was clearly still feeling the effects<br />
of their previous night’s efforts against<br />
Japan and they were below their best.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Ivan Andreadis won three matches<br />
and Vaclav Tereba beat Bergmann and<br />
Leach, <strong>to</strong> give Czechoslovakia vic<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
by five matches <strong>to</strong> three. Two defeats<br />
for England meant the third play-off<br />
between Japan and Czechoslovakia became<br />
effectively the final of the competition.<br />
It proved <strong>to</strong> be a close contest.<br />
Andreadis, one of the few players who<br />
seemed able <strong>to</strong> deal with the Asian<br />
style of play, beat all three Japanese<br />
players, including Ogimura. Stipek<br />
beat Tomita but with Tereba losing all<br />
his matches, the outcome depended<br />
on the contest between Stipek and<br />
Kishiji Tamasu. Stipek fought hard but<br />
Tamasu was <strong>to</strong>o good and for the first<br />
time Japan won the Swaythling Cup.<br />
Japan lost only one match in group<br />
A of the women’s team event, when<br />
Trude Pritzi just managed <strong>to</strong> beat<br />
Kiiko Watanabe. Group B was headed<br />
by England, who almost equalled<br />
the Japanese result by dropping only<br />
two matches, Kathleen Best losing <strong>to</strong><br />
Krejcova of Czechoslovakia and Diane<br />
Rowe <strong>to</strong> Audrey Bates of Wales.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Ichiro Ogimura<br />
The Men’s Singles winner<br />
The crucial match in group C was between<br />
Romania, the holders, and Hungary,<br />
a match in which Rozeanu suffered<br />
her only loss in the <strong>to</strong>urnament,<br />
beaten by Koczian. Play started late<br />
and was further delayed by a disagreement<br />
about the score in the game between<br />
Eva Koczian of Hungary and<br />
Ella Zeller of Romania. Matters culminated<br />
with Koczian personally altering<br />
the score indica<strong>to</strong>rs; by the time the<br />
match ended, well after midnight, with<br />
a vic<strong>to</strong>ry for Hungary, there were only<br />
about 20 specta<strong>to</strong>rs left in the arena.<br />
For the play-off against Hungary, England<br />
rested Diane Rowe, who had<br />
seemed <strong>to</strong> be off form and replaced<br />
her with Ann Haydon. Alas for the host<br />
nation, this did not bring the hoped<br />
for improvement and Hungary won<br />
three-one. Rosalind Rowe’s defeat of<br />
Koczian was the only English success.<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 51
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
However, their play-off against Japan<br />
was much closer and the result unexpected.<br />
Japan established a two matches<br />
<strong>to</strong> nil lead after Tanaka beat Rosalind<br />
Rowe and Watanabe overcame her sister<br />
Diane. When the Japanese pair won<br />
the first game of the doubles, it looked<br />
as though the match was virtually over.<br />
But the twins rallied <strong>to</strong> win the doubles,<br />
Rosalind beat Watanabe and Diane won<br />
the deciding game against Tanaka 22-<br />
20, <strong>to</strong> give England a three-two vic<strong>to</strong>ry.<br />
In the third play-off Japan defeated<br />
Hungary three-one, with only Gisi<br />
Gervai (formerly Farkas) winning a<br />
match, so that the Japan women, with<br />
two wins out of three, matched the<br />
achievement of the Japanese men by<br />
securing their first World Team title.<br />
rallies lasting only a few strokes. Flisberg<br />
narrowly won one game but in the others<br />
his score barely reached double figures;<br />
it was obvious from an early stage<br />
that Ogimura would be the winner.<br />
Both of the Rowe twins reached the<br />
quarter-finals of the women’s singles<br />
but progressed no further, Rosalind losing<br />
<strong>to</strong> Koczian and Diane <strong>to</strong> Fuji Eguchi<br />
of Japan. In the other quarter-finals Angelica<br />
Rozeanu of Romania, the holder,<br />
beat Shirley Jones of Wales and Tanaka<br />
defeated England’s Kathleen Best.<br />
In the first semi-final, Koczian was unable<br />
<strong>to</strong> repeat her Corbillon Cup win<br />
over Rozeanu, who won the third and<br />
final game after being 15-20 in arrears.<br />
The all-Japanese semi-final between<br />
In the quarter-finals of the men’s singles,<br />
Bergmann convincingly beat Tomita<br />
three-nil but in an earlier round<br />
he had struggled <strong>to</strong> defeat a young<br />
German player, Helmut Hanschmann,<br />
in a match in which four of the five<br />
games went <strong>to</strong> the time limit. Ogimura<br />
reached the quarter-finals having<br />
lost only one game and he continued<br />
in this form by routing the titleholder,<br />
Sido, in a three straight games<br />
match which lasted only 17 minutes.<br />
In his semi-final with Tage Flisberg of<br />
Sweden, Bergmann never looked confident<br />
and he made a number of errors<br />
against what seemed like easy returns,<br />
perhaps deceived by Flisberg’s exploitation<br />
of the thick sponge covering of<br />
his racket. The semi-final between Andreadis<br />
and Ogimura was closer and more<br />
exciting but in the end Ogimura’s vigorous<br />
attack was <strong>to</strong>o much for the Czech’s<br />
defence and he won in four games.<br />
The final was, by most accounts, one of<br />
the poorest ever as a spectacle, with most<br />
Ichiro Ogimura<br />
Set new standards<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
52<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Eguchi and Tanaka was a match of prolonged<br />
counter-hitting, with the more<br />
accurate Tanaka winning three-one.<br />
Tanaka continued in this manner<br />
against Rozeanu in the final but Rozeanu’s<br />
remarkable defence combined<br />
with the occasional quick attack secured<br />
her the title for the fifth successive<br />
year; thus she matched the<br />
1926-31 record of Maria Mednyanszky.<br />
A highlight of the men’s doubles was<br />
the performance of Vic<strong>to</strong>r Barna and<br />
Michel Haguenauer. Barna, who was<br />
now in his forties, had first won this title<br />
in 1929; his partner was 38 years old.<br />
Nevertheless, on their way <strong>to</strong> the final<br />
they beat the no.2 seeds, Bergmann and<br />
Leach in addition <strong>to</strong> the strong Czech<br />
pair, Adolf Slar and Vaclav Tereba.<br />
Meanwhile, in the other half of the<br />
draw, both men’s singles finalists were<br />
in the same quarter but neither reached<br />
the final. Flisberg, partnered with Aloisjy<br />
Ehrlich of France, lost <strong>to</strong> the all-French<br />
pair Roothoft and Michel Lanskoy in the<br />
longest match of the whole event, decided<br />
only at 22-20 in the fifth game.<br />
The French pair was then beaten by<br />
Ogimura and Tomita, who in the semifinal<br />
lost <strong>to</strong> Zarko Dolinar and Vilim<br />
Harangozo of Yugoslavia. In the final,<br />
Barna and Haguenauer had no answer<br />
<strong>to</strong> the power of Dolinar and Harangozo,<br />
who won the title without conceding<br />
a game in any of their matches.<br />
In the women’s doubles the Rowe twins,<br />
who had won the title in 1951, were<br />
expected <strong>to</strong> do well but it was another<br />
English pair, Kathleen Best and 15<br />
year old Ann Haydon, who produced<br />
some surprising results <strong>to</strong> reach the final.<br />
In successive rounds they beat a<br />
Japanese pair and the seeded Helen<br />
Elliott of Scotland and Leah Neuberger<br />
of the U.S.A., followed by a fifthgame<br />
21-19 vic<strong>to</strong>ry over the defending<br />
champions Farkas and Rozeanu.<br />
They played well in an entertaining final<br />
but the experience of Diane and Rosalind<br />
Rowe gave them the edge; they<br />
regained the title on their 21st birthday.<br />
There were surprises, <strong>to</strong>o, in the mixed<br />
doubles. The holders Sido and Rozeanu<br />
were eliminated in the second round<br />
by the Czech pair Laszlo Stipek and<br />
Eliska Kerjcova, who later beat Ogimura<br />
and Watanabe but lost in the quarterfinals<br />
<strong>to</strong> Barna and Rosalind Rowe.<br />
In the semi-finals Barna and Rosalind<br />
Rowe lost <strong>to</strong> the eventual winners,<br />
Andreadis and Gervai, who beat Tomita<br />
and Eguchi three-one in the final.<br />
Once again the Jubilee Cup was staged<br />
on the same basis as in 1948. Ivor Montagu<br />
was drawn in the first round<br />
against Roy Evans but this match between<br />
two Presidents of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation failed <strong>to</strong><br />
materialise when Roy Evans withdrew.<br />
After another walk-over Ivor reached<br />
the quarter-final, where he lost <strong>to</strong> the<br />
veteran Alec Brook, thus maintaining<br />
his record of having competed in<br />
almost every World Championships,<br />
without winning a single played match!<br />
In terms of entries, this was larger than<br />
any previous World Championships,<br />
with some 350 players from 37 countries<br />
taking part. It was also by far the most<br />
ambitious project so far undertaken by<br />
the English Table Tennis Association and<br />
managing the paperwork, in the days of<br />
manual typewriters and no copying facilities,<br />
was a gargantuan task on its own.<br />
Yet the typing section managed <strong>to</strong> pro-<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 53
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
duce during the course of the Championships<br />
no fewer than 39 printed bulletins,<br />
each in the three official languages<br />
(English, French, Spanish) of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation. The<br />
papers contained the latest results and<br />
news, as well as the thousands of other<br />
documents associated with the organisation<br />
and management of the events.<br />
Perhaps if these people and others,<br />
who had <strong>to</strong> work 15 hours and more<br />
a day, had known in advance what<br />
would be required, they would have<br />
thought twice about accepting the responsibility.<br />
However, when it was all<br />
over they could feel nothing but pride<br />
in what they had <strong>to</strong>gether achieved.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Angelica Rozeanu (Romania)<br />
The Women’s Singles Champion in <strong>London</strong><br />
54<br />
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European<br />
Championships<br />
April<br />
Wednesday<br />
13th - 20th<br />
1966<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 55
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The leading article in the April 1962 issue<br />
of the English Table Tennis Association’s<br />
official magazine “Table Tennis”<br />
began “As we go <strong>to</strong> press, the news<br />
comes that the ETTA has decided <strong>to</strong> exercise<br />
the option it holds on the staging<br />
of the next European Championships”.<br />
It continued <strong>to</strong> report that sponsorship<br />
had been secured and that the Championships<br />
would be staged in 1964, being<br />
the first major international event <strong>to</strong><br />
be held at the new National Recreation<br />
Centre then being built on the site of<br />
the old Crystal Palace; building being<br />
due for completion by the end of 1963.<br />
The competition was expected <strong>to</strong> be<br />
similar in scale <strong>to</strong> the 1954 World Championships<br />
and it was announced that<br />
plans were already in hand <strong>to</strong> set up the<br />
organisation that would be needed. It<br />
was not <strong>to</strong> be.<br />
At that time, Germany was divided in<br />
two. The western part, known as the<br />
Federal Republic of Germany, was closely<br />
associated with western European<br />
countries and North America, while the<br />
eastern part, the German Democratic<br />
Republic, was one of a number of eastern<br />
European states allied <strong>to</strong> the Soviet<br />
Union. Both republics were members of<br />
the European Table Tennis Union and<br />
wanted <strong>to</strong> enter teams and players separately<br />
for the Championships.<br />
England’s option <strong>to</strong> host the event.<br />
However, by 1965 the situation had<br />
eased a little and in Oc<strong>to</strong>ber of that year<br />
it was announced that the English Table<br />
Tennis Association, now confident that<br />
the necessary assurances on entry <strong>to</strong> the<br />
United Kingdom would be given, had<br />
agreed <strong>to</strong> organise the 5th European<br />
Championships in 1966. It was an ambitious<br />
undertaking; all of the previous<br />
arrangements had been abandoned and<br />
there was less than a year for them <strong>to</strong> be<br />
replaced.<br />
The National Recreation Centre was<br />
now in frequent use and was unlikely<br />
<strong>to</strong> be free for the period required, so it<br />
was decided instead <strong>to</strong> hold the Championships<br />
at the same venue as the<br />
1954 World Championships, the Empire<br />
Pool and Sports Arena in Wembley. The<br />
premises had been used on a number<br />
of subsequent occasions for the English<br />
Open Championships, so staff members<br />
were familiar with the requirements of<br />
table tennis.<br />
Furthermore, the English Table Tennis<br />
Association had established a good relationship<br />
with the management and fortunately,<br />
it was available in April 1966<br />
for the necessary 10 days - eight days of<br />
competition and two days for preparation<br />
and dismantling.<br />
However, in 1963 the countries forming<br />
the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation<br />
(NATO) <strong>to</strong>ok a joint decision not <strong>to</strong> recognise<br />
the division of Germany and, as<br />
a consequence, the British government<br />
could give no assurance that players<br />
from the German Democratic Republic<br />
would be granted entry visas. Free entry<br />
for all member countries was a requirement;<br />
the European Table Tennis Union<br />
had no choice other than <strong>to</strong> withdraw<br />
The European Championships followed<br />
the same sequence as the World Championships,<br />
starting with men’s and women’s<br />
team competitions followed, after<br />
a “rest day”, by the usual range of individual<br />
events. Both team competitions<br />
were in three stages. In the first stage,<br />
teams were drawn in<strong>to</strong> eight groups,<br />
taking in<strong>to</strong> account their current rankings;<br />
in the second stage teams were allocated<br />
in<strong>to</strong> groups on the basis of their<br />
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first stage results, with the third stage<br />
seeing the first placed teams in the two<br />
principal groups contesting the title, the<br />
second placed team competing for third<br />
place and so on.<br />
A <strong>to</strong>tal of 30 men’s teams and 24 women’s<br />
teams <strong>to</strong>ok part and the 18 tables<br />
available were in almost continuous<br />
use throughout three daily sessions; the<br />
team events occupied almost half of the<br />
time of the Championships.<br />
In the first stage, almost all of the group<br />
winners were undefeated, not losing a<br />
single individual match. The only men’s<br />
team without a perfect record was Sweden.<br />
They lost one match against Switzerland<br />
and one against England, whose<br />
sole loss was <strong>to</strong> the East German team.<br />
Meanwhile, in the women’s event, the<br />
Soviet Union and Poland each lost one<br />
individual match, <strong>to</strong> Austria and Poland<br />
respectively.<br />
The Swedish men won all their matches<br />
in one of the <strong>to</strong>p two second stage<br />
groups but in the other the Soviet Union<br />
and Yugoslavia were level with two wins<br />
each. The Soviet Union was placed first,<br />
only as a result of the outcome of the<br />
contest between the two teams. There<br />
were similarly close results in both of<br />
the <strong>to</strong>p two second stage groups in the<br />
women’s event.<br />
In one, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia<br />
each won two matches; again<br />
the Soviet Union was placed first as a<br />
result of winning the match between<br />
the two teams. In the other group there<br />
was a triple tie, with Hungary, Romania<br />
and West Germany each winning two<br />
matches. The outcome was decided by<br />
the number of individual matches won<br />
and lost with Hungary being placed first,<br />
West Germany second and Romania<br />
third. In both the men’s and the women’s<br />
second stage matches, the Soviet<br />
Union’s defeats resulted from their risky<br />
decision, after winning two matches, <strong>to</strong><br />
play reserves in their third matches.<br />
Although ranked only seventh in Europe<br />
the Soviet Union’s men’s team <strong>to</strong>ok an<br />
early lead in the final against the favourites,<br />
Sweden, with Sarkis Sarkhojan<br />
beating Karl-Johan Bernhardt in the<br />
opening match. The balance was res<strong>to</strong>red<br />
when Stanislav Gomozkov lost <strong>to</strong><br />
the experienced Hans Alser but the third<br />
match was in the balance almost <strong>to</strong> the<br />
end with Ana<strong>to</strong>ly Amelin taking Kjell<br />
Johansson <strong>to</strong> a close third game. The Soviet<br />
Union then again drew level with<br />
a vic<strong>to</strong>ry for Gomozkov over Bernhardt<br />
and it became clear that the next match<br />
would be crucial <strong>to</strong> the outcome.<br />
To everyone’s surprise, Sarkhojan won<br />
the first game against Johansson, ranked<br />
some 20 places higher, and in the second<br />
he recovered from a 5-11 deficit <strong>to</strong> reach<br />
20-all, only <strong>to</strong> lose 23-25. The deciding<br />
game was even more dramatic. Sarkhojan<br />
built up a 13-4 lead and it looked as<br />
though the Soviet Union was on course<br />
for the title. However, Johansson staged<br />
a remarkable recovery <strong>to</strong> level the scores<br />
at 15-all. He was again behind at 17-18<br />
with Sarkhojan serving but held on <strong>to</strong><br />
take the game 21-18. From then on the<br />
Swedes, their confidence res<strong>to</strong>red, were<br />
uns<strong>to</strong>ppable and they duly won the<br />
match five-two.<br />
The women’s team final between Hungary<br />
and the Soviet Union was much<br />
less exciting although, as in the men’s<br />
event, the first individual match went <strong>to</strong><br />
Russia when Erzsebet Jurik lost <strong>to</strong> Svetlana<br />
Grinberg in straight games. Next<br />
in<strong>to</strong> the action for Hungary came Eva<br />
Koczian and, playing at her best, she<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 57
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Maria Alexandru<br />
The Women’s Singles winner<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
beat both Signe Pajsarv and Grinberg <strong>to</strong><br />
give Hungary a two-one lead and then,<br />
paired with Jurik, <strong>to</strong>ok the doubles. The<br />
Hungarians always looked the likely<br />
winners but the result might have been<br />
different had the Russians not been<br />
without one of their strongest players,<br />
Zoja Rudnova.<br />
An early shock in the men’s singles was<br />
the first round defeat of the sixth seed,<br />
Istvan Korpa of Yugoslavia, beaten by<br />
Czechoslovakia’s Stefan Kollarovits. Kollarovits<br />
then showed that this was not<br />
a freak result by advancing three more<br />
rounds <strong>to</strong> the semi-final, on the way<br />
beating another seed, Dorin Giurgiuca<br />
of Romania. All of the other seeds progressed<br />
<strong>to</strong> the quarter-finals, with the<br />
exception of West Germany’s Eberhard<br />
Schöler; he was beaten by Peter Roszas<br />
of Hungary after having established a<br />
two-nil lead. Kollarovits’ progress was<br />
finally halted by Johansson but in the<br />
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<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
other half of the draw his compatriot,<br />
Vladimir Miko, beat Johansson’s fellow<br />
Swede, Hans Alser. Miko went on <strong>to</strong><br />
defeat Amelin, who in his quarter-final<br />
had proved <strong>to</strong>o strong for Roszas and<br />
so qualified <strong>to</strong> meet Johansson in the<br />
final. In the final Miko seemed unable<br />
<strong>to</strong> maintain the form he had shown earlier<br />
and Johansson <strong>to</strong>ok the title with a<br />
comfortable three-nil win.<br />
There were no surprises in the opening<br />
rounds of the women’s singles but two<br />
of the seeded players failed <strong>to</strong> reach<br />
the quarter-finals. In the third round<br />
the 1962 champion, Agnes Simon of<br />
West Germany lost <strong>to</strong> Pajsarv and Jurik<br />
was beaten by East Germany’s Gabriele<br />
Geissler, but neither of the winners<br />
survived the quarter-finals. Pajsarv lost<br />
three-nil <strong>to</strong> Koczian and Geissler suffered<br />
a similar defeat against Grinberg.<br />
The other semi-finalists were Romania’s<br />
Maria Alexandru and Czechoslovakia’s<br />
Marta Luzova, who beat respectively<br />
the two English players Diane Schöler<br />
and Mary Wright.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Kjell Johansson<br />
European Men’s Singles Champion<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 59
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Play in progress at the 1966<br />
European Championships<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong> : ITTF Archives<br />
In the first semi-finals, Koczian found<br />
Alexandru’s defence impenetrable, losing<br />
in straight games, and in the other<br />
Grinberg outhit Luzova <strong>to</strong> win threeone.<br />
In the final, games were won by<br />
the two players alternately, with Alexandru<br />
showing the greater staying power<br />
<strong>to</strong> win three-two.<br />
The men’s doubles went more or less<br />
in accordance with expectations, with<br />
three of the four seeded pairs progressing<br />
<strong>to</strong> the semi-finals without <strong>to</strong>o much<br />
difficulty. The only seeded pair not <strong>to</strong><br />
do so was Giurgiuca and Reti of Romania.<br />
They were beaten in the second<br />
round by the Hungarian pair Roszas and<br />
Harangi. These promptly lost in the next<br />
round <strong>to</strong> Amelin and Gomozkov, who<br />
then departed at the hands of Czechoslovakia’s<br />
Miko and Stanek in the semifinal.<br />
In the other semi-final the <strong>to</strong>p seeds,<br />
Alser and Johansson, were given a hard<br />
fight by Korpa and his partner Edvard<br />
Vecko of Yugoslavia before reaching the<br />
final. Here, in another closely contested<br />
match, they trailed Miko and Stanek by<br />
two games <strong>to</strong> nil, before winning the<br />
last three games <strong>to</strong> secure the title.<br />
The women’s doubles was even more<br />
predictable and the only seeded pair<br />
<strong>to</strong> have any problem as far as the semifinals<br />
was the English partnership of<br />
Diane Schöler (née Rowe) and Mary<br />
Wright (née Shannon). They had won<br />
the title at both of the previous two<br />
Championships. In the quarter-finals<br />
they faced the formidable Romanians<br />
Alexandru and Eleanora Mihalca and<br />
struggled before winning in five games.<br />
Alas, for the host nation that was their<br />
last success; they were beaten in the<br />
semi-finals by the Czechoslovakian pairing<br />
of Marta Luzova and Irena Mikocziova.<br />
The other finalists were Koczian<br />
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<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
and Jurik, who defeated the Czech pair<br />
<strong>to</strong> add the doubles title <strong>to</strong> the one they<br />
had gained in the team event.<br />
The quarter-finalists in the mixed doubles<br />
comprised three pairs from Hungary,<br />
two each from Czechoslovakia and<br />
Romania and one from England; after<br />
the strong showing by the Soviet Union<br />
in other events it was surprising that all<br />
four of their pairs were eliminated before<br />
this stage. After the quarter-finals<br />
each of the remaining pairs was from<br />
a different country - Roszas and Lukacs<br />
from Hungary, Giurgiuca and Alexandru<br />
from Romania, Miko and Luzova from<br />
Czechoslovakia and England’s Chester<br />
Barnes and Mary Wright.<br />
disappointment was that unusually bad<br />
weather resulted in public attendance<br />
being less on some days than had been<br />
anticipated.<br />
However, it was generally agreed that<br />
the outcome had justified the English<br />
Table Tennis Association’s undertaking<br />
the enterprise at such short notice and<br />
fully made up for the frustration felt<br />
when the opportunity had been lost of<br />
staging the event in 1964.<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Miko and Luzova reached the final by<br />
beating Giurgiuca and Alexandru threetwo<br />
while Barnes and Wright gave the<br />
host Association its only finalists. They<br />
overcame Rozsas and Lukacs in four<br />
games and kept English hopes alive by<br />
taking the first game of the final and<br />
losing the second only at 20-22 but then<br />
they seemed <strong>to</strong> lose their <strong>to</strong>uch and conceded<br />
the next two games 3-21, 9-21.<br />
It was the first European Championships<br />
in which all the member Associations,<br />
then numbering 30, had entered players.<br />
Therefore, the <strong>to</strong>urnament was on a<br />
scale comparable <strong>to</strong> the last major international<br />
table tennis competition held<br />
in <strong>London</strong>, the 1954 World Championships<br />
and full advantage was taken of<br />
the lessons learned from that undertaking.<br />
Particular attention was paid <strong>to</strong> good<br />
communication with specta<strong>to</strong>rs and the<br />
press, keeping them informed promptly<br />
of results and any changes <strong>to</strong> the playing<br />
schedule. There was good television<br />
coverage by the BBC and the only slight<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 61
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
Grand Finals<br />
Thursday 24th - Sunday 27th November 2011<br />
At the KAL Cup Pro Tour Grand Finals<br />
staged in the Korean capital city of Seoul<br />
in December 2010, China was notable<br />
by its absence; one year later when the<br />
event was held in <strong>London</strong>, from Thursday<br />
24th <strong>to</strong> Sunday 27th November 2011,<br />
China was noticeable by its presence.<br />
The fact that the ExCel Arena was home<br />
for the <strong>to</strong>urnament and the proposed<br />
venue for the table tennis events at<br />
the Olympic Games the following year,<br />
was the magnet. It was sufficient reason<br />
for China <strong>to</strong> make sure that those<br />
who would potentially play in the prestigious<br />
quadrennial event were present.<br />
True <strong>to</strong> the very best Chinese traditions,<br />
nothing would be left <strong>to</strong> chance;<br />
no s<strong>to</strong>ne would be left unturned.<br />
Following the GAC GROUP 2011 World<br />
Championships, held in Rotterdam earlier<br />
in the year in May, the World Ranking<br />
lists published immediately after<br />
the event determined the direct entries<br />
for the <strong>London</strong> <strong>2012</strong> Olympic Games.<br />
A maximum of two players from any<br />
one National Olympic was permitted<br />
by ranking; Wang Hao and Zhang Jike<br />
were the Chinese men who occupied<br />
the respective <strong>to</strong>p two places, for the<br />
women it was LI Xiaoxia and Guo Yan.<br />
In June 2011 they were the nominations<br />
confirmed by the Chinese National Olympic<br />
Committee. However in May <strong>2012</strong>,<br />
owing <strong>to</strong> injury, Guo Yan was replaced<br />
by Ding Ning, very much the player of<br />
2011. In November she had climbed <strong>to</strong><br />
the <strong>to</strong>p spot on the Women’s World<br />
Rankings, a position she continued <strong>to</strong><br />
hold, when the seeding for the Olympic<br />
Games was determined in July <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
However, at the ITTF Pro Tour Grand<br />
Finals, it was two other Chinese names<br />
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Ma Long<br />
continued his rich vein of form<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong> : Rémy Gros<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 63
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
that s<strong>to</strong>od on the <strong>to</strong>p step of the<br />
medal podium, when matters concluded<br />
on a cold <strong>London</strong> winter’s<br />
night at the ExCel Arena in the Docklands<br />
area of England’s capital city.<br />
Ma Long won the men’s singles event;<br />
Liu Shiwen captured the counterpart<br />
women’s singles title. It was for the<br />
former a continuation of a quite incredible<br />
run of success. In early June<br />
he had been beaten in the final of the<br />
men’s singles event at the Volkswagen<br />
China Open in Shenzhen by the reigning<br />
Olympic champion, Ma Lin; since that<br />
reverse he had not experienced a singles<br />
defeat on the international scene.<br />
stretched the full seven games distance,<br />
maintained his quite incredible form.<br />
Speed and a mighty forehand ended<br />
the aspirations of Zhang Jike in five<br />
games, whilst in the counterpart Women’s<br />
Singles final the sheer consistency<br />
of Liu Shiwen’s counter attacking<br />
play overcame colleague Ding Ning.<br />
Furthermore, in a similar manner <strong>to</strong><br />
Ma Long, Liu Shiwen never had <strong>to</strong> endure<br />
the agonies of a deciding seventh<br />
game at any stage of proceedings,<br />
beating Japan’s Sayaka Hirano,<br />
compatriot Guo Yue and Singapore’s<br />
Wang Yuegu en route <strong>to</strong> the final.<br />
He had won in his native China in Suzhou<br />
in August at the Harmony China<br />
Open, before succeeding in Austria and<br />
Sweden. The outstanding run of form<br />
had seen Ma Long regain the <strong>to</strong>p spot<br />
on the Men’s World Rankings, the position<br />
he had held throughout 2010.<br />
Similarly, throughout 2010, Liu Shiwen<br />
had occupied the no.1 spot on the<br />
Women’s World Rankings but when<br />
play started in the ExCel Arena, she<br />
was listed in fifth place and was striving<br />
<strong>to</strong> return <strong>to</strong> the former status. Earlier<br />
in the year in February, she had<br />
won on the ITTF Pro Tour in Qatar but<br />
in both Austria and Sweden, the silver<br />
medal had been her lot; she had a<br />
point <strong>to</strong> prove, the point was proven.<br />
In fact both Ma Long and Liu Shiwen<br />
proved a point. At the final hurdle<br />
their victims were the players who had<br />
donned the World champion mantle<br />
earlier in the year in Rotterdam. Ma<br />
Long, having beaten Korea’s Oh Sang<br />
Eun, Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-<br />
Yuan and compatriot Wang Hao en<br />
route <strong>to</strong> the final without ever being<br />
Defeat for Zhang Jike and Ding Ning<br />
was a somewhat new experience in major<br />
events in 2011 for the two Chinese<br />
stars; in addition <strong>to</strong> succeeding in Rotterdam,<br />
Ding Ning had won the Volkswagen<br />
Women’s World Cup title in<br />
Oc<strong>to</strong>ber in Singapore, whilst in November,<br />
Zhang Jike had secured the Liebherr<br />
Men’s World Cup crown in Paris.<br />
In <strong>London</strong>, Ma Long and Liu Shiwen<br />
ended their “Grand Slam” aspirations.<br />
Success for Ma Long in the Men’s Singles<br />
event but in the men’s doubles<br />
with Wang Hao he had <strong>to</strong> settle for<br />
the silver medal, the pair being beaten<br />
by colleagues Ma Lin and Zhang Jike<br />
in the final by the very minimal two<br />
point margin in the deciding game.<br />
A closely fought men’s doubles final<br />
but in the counterpart women’s doubles<br />
event, one partnership dominated<br />
proceedings. Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia,<br />
the <strong>to</strong>p seeds, added yet another title<br />
<strong>to</strong> their collection by beating the<br />
Japanese combination of Ai Fukuhara<br />
and Kasumi Ishikawa in the final.<br />
64<br />
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LIU SHIWEN<br />
The winner of the women’s singles title<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 65
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
The Chinese duo recorded a straight<br />
games vic<strong>to</strong>ry in the gold medal contest<br />
and extended their record breaking run<br />
in international competition. Vic<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
meant Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia had remained<br />
unbeaten as a doubles pair for<br />
over three years. On Sunday 14th September<br />
2008 they had been beaten in<br />
seven games in the final of the women’s<br />
doubles event at the Panasonic China<br />
Open in Shanghai by Hong Jong’s Jiang<br />
Huajun and Tie Yana, but no pair<br />
since that date had repeated the feat.<br />
In the meantime, Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia<br />
had won the women’s doubles title<br />
at the H.I.S. World Championships in<br />
2009 and earlier in the year at the GAC<br />
GROUP 2011 World Championships;<br />
in fact for Guo Yue, with whoever she<br />
partnered on the ITTF Pro Tour, since<br />
the defeat in September 2008, she had<br />
never lost a women’s doubles match.<br />
Success in <strong>London</strong> meant that when actually<br />
competing in a women’s doubles<br />
event on the ITTF Pro Tour, she had won<br />
no fewer than 16 consecutive titles!<br />
Vic<strong>to</strong>ry for Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia was<br />
not unexpected but there were <strong>to</strong> be<br />
surprises in the ExCel Arena, with Singapore<br />
providing the major shocks.<br />
Gao Ning, the quiet man of world table<br />
tennis, beat the two most recent Olympic<br />
men’s singles gold medallists, Ma Lin<br />
Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia<br />
yet another Women’s Doubles title<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>:Rémy Gros<br />
66<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
and Korea’s Ryu Seung Min, <strong>to</strong> reach the<br />
semi-finals, where Zhang Jike abruptly<br />
ended his progress. In the women’s singles<br />
event the charming Wang Yuegu<br />
reached the same stage by ousting compatriot<br />
Li Jiawei and <strong>to</strong>p seed, Guo Yan,<br />
before Liu Shiwen halted aspirations.<br />
Four titles for China and there was<br />
one each for Korea and Japan. The<br />
supremely talented Korean, Kim Min<br />
Seok won the under 21 men’s singles<br />
beating Singapore’s Chen Feng in the<br />
final. Meanwhile, Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa,<br />
the busiest player on duty in<br />
the three days of competition (she<br />
played also in the women’s singles and<br />
women’s doubles events), emerged as<br />
the under 21 women’s singles champion.<br />
At the final hurdle, she overcame<br />
Kim Min Seok’s colleague Jeon Ji Hee.<br />
Matters had progressed without any<br />
significant hitches, the only major problem<br />
being in the nearby Crowne Plaza<br />
Hotel, where a cook set the kitchen on<br />
fire on the morning of the final day of<br />
play. Alarm bells rang, evacuation followed<br />
and the fire brigade arrived.<br />
Standing outside in the street was not<br />
the most pleasant experience for the<br />
umpires but, just in time, they were<br />
allowed <strong>to</strong> return in<strong>to</strong> the building <strong>to</strong><br />
don their uniforms and collect the necessary<br />
materials <strong>to</strong> fulfil their duties.<br />
Otherwise, without causing the local fire<br />
brigade <strong>to</strong> arrive, the icing needed <strong>to</strong> be<br />
applied <strong>to</strong> the cake, the final <strong>to</strong>uches for<br />
the ensuing sporting spectacular. The colour<br />
of the light blue floor may not have<br />
been <strong>to</strong> everyone’s choice but the universal<br />
feeling was the venue had passed<br />
the test; more ominously, so had China..<br />
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Kim Min Seok<br />
Captured the Under 21 Men’s Singles title<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 67
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
Zhang Jike and Ma Lin<br />
Zhang Jike (left ) and Ma Lin (right)<br />
Crowned Men’s Doubles Champions<br />
crowned Men’s Doubles champions<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
68<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
<strong>London</strong>, the Home of Table Tennis<br />
KASUMI ISHIKAWA<br />
The Under 21 Women’s Singles champion and the busiest player on duty<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
DING NING<br />
Denied the “Grand Slam”,<br />
beaten in the final by Liu Shiwen<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 69
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Table Tennis in the<br />
OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
Olympic Games Acceptance<br />
Seoul Olympic Games 1988<br />
Barcelona Olympic Games 1992<br />
Atlanta Olympic Games 1996<br />
Sydney Olympic Games 2000<br />
Athens Olympic Games 2004<br />
Beijing Olympic Games 2008<br />
Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010<br />
70<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
OLYMPIC<br />
ACCEPTANCE<br />
“I am opposed <strong>to</strong> the inclusion of table<br />
tennis in the Olympic Games. Firstly, I<br />
think the Olympic Games should be restricted<br />
<strong>to</strong> athletics and similar events,<br />
where athletes vie with each other, not<br />
extend <strong>to</strong> sports of the football or lawn<br />
tennis type. Second, I think sports that<br />
do not have their own world title competitions<br />
need the Olympic Games.”<br />
In the Minutes of that meeting it is recorded<br />
that “Steps are <strong>to</strong> be taken <strong>to</strong> secure<br />
the holding of Table Tennis events<br />
simultaneously with the winter sports at<br />
the Olympic Games, Berlin 1936”.<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Ivor Montagu 1946<br />
The desire for table tennis <strong>to</strong> be an<br />
Olympic sport dates back <strong>to</strong> the early<br />
days of the International Table Tennis<br />
Federation. The first mention of the <strong>to</strong>pic<br />
is in the Minutes of the 1931 Annual<br />
General Meeting, where it is recorded<br />
that “A discourse on the Olympic Games<br />
was received with appreciation . . . and<br />
it was agreed <strong>to</strong> explore the possibilities<br />
outlined.”<br />
No copies of that discourse have been<br />
found but a report attached <strong>to</strong> the Minutes<br />
of the 1932 Annual General Meeting<br />
reads:<br />
“Circular sent <strong>to</strong> all countries, as per<br />
AGM instruction, asking for information<br />
on Olympic Games situation. One<br />
reply received. Japan has written <strong>to</strong> Los<br />
Angeles proposing for Games this year.<br />
British Olympic Council recommends, if<br />
any action at all is desired, proposed as<br />
supplementary (no principal) game, Berlin<br />
1936.”<br />
There seems <strong>to</strong> have been some confusion<br />
in the minds of the delegates as the<br />
1936 Winter Games were <strong>to</strong> be held in<br />
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria; it<br />
was the Summer Games that would be<br />
held in Berlin. Whatever the intention,<br />
there is no indication in the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation’s archives<br />
that there was any outcome <strong>to</strong> the actions<br />
taken, if any, and the subject is not<br />
mentioned again until 1937.<br />
The Minutes of that year’s Annual General<br />
Meeting were more specific, saying<br />
“It was decided <strong>to</strong> instruct the Advisory<br />
Committee <strong>to</strong> get in <strong>to</strong>uch with the<br />
Prepara<strong>to</strong>ry Commission for the forthcoming<br />
Olympiad at Tokyo with a view<br />
<strong>to</strong> the inclusion of table tennis in that<br />
Olympiad.” All the countries present<br />
were in favour except England, led by<br />
Ivor Montagu, who voted against.<br />
The reason given was the then strict requirement<br />
for all Olympic participants<br />
<strong>to</strong> be amateurs. In 1935 a proposal from<br />
England <strong>to</strong> amend the International Table<br />
Tennis Federation’s Constitution had<br />
been accepted and under this amend-<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
ment all references <strong>to</strong> “amateurs” and<br />
“professionals” had been deleted and<br />
replaced by “players”.<br />
It meant that those who earned money<br />
for coaching, writing, exhibitions and so<br />
on could compete in all events. Thus it<br />
avoided what was seen as hypocrisy in<br />
other sports, where so-called amateurs<br />
were in receipt of generous expenses<br />
and other allowances and were professionals<br />
in all but name. England’s view<br />
was that acceptance of table tennis as<br />
an Olympic sport would depend on reverting<br />
<strong>to</strong> the former discrimina<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
terms and <strong>to</strong> this they were implacably<br />
opposed.<br />
In spite of the clear 1937 instruction it<br />
appears that the Advisory Committee<br />
failed <strong>to</strong> pursue the matter and the Minutes<br />
of the 1938 Annual General Meeting<br />
include a reminder that “the Secretaries<br />
had been instructed <strong>to</strong> take steps<br />
<strong>to</strong>wards the inclusion of table tennis in<br />
the Olympic Games and they were instructed<br />
<strong>to</strong> write immediately <strong>to</strong> the Japan<br />
TTA on the subject.”<br />
Whether they then did so is again not<br />
recorded but it soon ceased <strong>to</strong> matter,<br />
as the onset of World War Two ensured<br />
that there would be no Olympic Games<br />
in 1940, in Tokyo or anywhere else. After<br />
the war, the International Table Tennis<br />
Federation’s main concern was the<br />
res<strong>to</strong>ration of normal operations but at<br />
the <strong>London</strong> Conference held in 1946 the<br />
President, Ivor Montagu reiterated his<br />
personal antipathy <strong>to</strong> the idea of Olympic<br />
recognition.<br />
In reply <strong>to</strong> a question he said: “I am opposed<br />
<strong>to</strong> the inclusion of table tennis in<br />
the Olympic Games. Firstly, I think the<br />
Olympic Games should be restricted <strong>to</strong><br />
athletics and similar events, where athletes<br />
vie with each other, not extend<br />
<strong>to</strong> sports of the football or lawn tennis<br />
type. Second, I think sports that do not<br />
have their own world title competitions<br />
need the Olympic Games.”<br />
“We, and similarly Lawn Tennis with the<br />
Davis Cup, do not need the Olympics.<br />
For us they are a duplication. Lawn Tennis<br />
dropped out of the Olympics after, I<br />
think, 1924. Third, it is not certain that<br />
if we applied we would be successful.<br />
If we were refused it would be a rebuff<br />
and a humiliation <strong>to</strong> the game.”<br />
However, he clearly did not see the strict<br />
Olympic Rules on amateurism as a bar<br />
<strong>to</strong> participation, saying “We are assured<br />
that, so long as no Association selects a<br />
paid player for this particular event, our<br />
lack of sharp distinction between professionals<br />
and amateurs in general rules<br />
would be no bar <strong>to</strong> inclusion of table<br />
tennis at the next Olympic Games”.<br />
He added “There is a reluctance <strong>to</strong> add <strong>to</strong><br />
the number of sports already agreed for<br />
inclusion but if there is a general wish by<br />
Associations for inclusion of table tennis<br />
it is up <strong>to</strong> them <strong>to</strong> instruct the ITTF and<br />
ETTA <strong>to</strong> apply and themselves <strong>to</strong> press<br />
their own Olympic Committees.”<br />
A vote was then taken, resulting in four<br />
in favour, one against and five, including<br />
England, undecided. Winding up the<br />
discussion Ivor said “It is clear we have<br />
not made up our minds. Let us anyway<br />
agree each <strong>to</strong> approach his National<br />
Olympic Committee on the subject - I believe<br />
that a big say in deciding the matter<br />
will depend on how many National<br />
Olympic Committees support it - and<br />
inform the ITTF Advisory Council of the<br />
result. On the information thus gathered,<br />
the Advisory Council can reach a<br />
decision".<br />
72<br />
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This was agreed but very little seems<br />
<strong>to</strong> have happened as a result and the<br />
next recorded mention was some eleven<br />
years later, when in 1967 the campaign<br />
was taken up again. Its success was due<br />
largely <strong>to</strong> the perseverance of the new<br />
President of the International Table<br />
Tennis Federation, Roy Evans, ably supported<br />
by the General Secretary, Arthur<br />
Kingsley (Bill) Vint.<br />
Harold Roy Evans was born in Cardiff in<br />
1909, and was a player of international<br />
standard. He represented his native<br />
Wales in various events from 1931-33,<br />
including the 1933 World Championships<br />
but he soon became more interested<br />
in coaching and in the administrative<br />
aspects of the sport.<br />
He was Honorary General Secretary of<br />
the Welsh Association from 1933 until<br />
the outbreak of World War Two in 1939,<br />
when he volunteered for the Royal Air<br />
Force. There he trained first as a radio<br />
opera<strong>to</strong>r and then as a Fighter Controller,<br />
ending his service in Burma with the<br />
rank of Acting Squadron Leader.<br />
Soon after his return he was appointed<br />
Chairman of the Welsh Association, later<br />
becoming its President, a position he<br />
held until 1989. He became a member<br />
of the International Table Tennis Federation’s<br />
Advisory Committee in 1947<br />
and in 1951 he was appointed Honorary<br />
General Secretary of the Federation, a<br />
post he held until his election as its President<br />
in 1967.<br />
Roy could be dicta<strong>to</strong>rial and charming,<br />
blunt and diplomatic and it was the<br />
combination of these qualities that so<br />
often brought him success.<br />
In 1971, on his way <strong>to</strong> Japan for the<br />
World Championships, he was invited<br />
<strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p off in China, where he was summoned<br />
by the Chinese Premier Chou<br />
En-Lai and asked <strong>to</strong> ban South Vietnam<br />
from the event. At the time the<br />
two countries were sworn enemies. He<br />
turned the request down on the basis<br />
that both were members of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation and had<br />
<strong>to</strong> be dealt with equally.<br />
In a counter-move he suggested that<br />
China invite <strong>to</strong>p western countries <strong>to</strong><br />
visit them on their way back from Japan<br />
and this proved <strong>to</strong> be a significant step<br />
in improving relations between China<br />
and the United States. The Chinese sent<br />
their request <strong>to</strong> America and, with the<br />
agreement of the State Department, the<br />
visit followed. A year later, in February<br />
1972, President Nixon visited China, as a<br />
direct result of what became known as<br />
“Ping-Pong Diplomacy”.<br />
In 1972 he was awarded the Order of<br />
the British Empire (O.B.E.) for services <strong>to</strong><br />
sport. He served on a number of national<br />
and international sporting bodies, including<br />
the British International Sports<br />
Committee and the General Assembly<br />
of International Sports Federations.<br />
Also, he was a member of the General<br />
Purposes and Finance Committee of the<br />
British Olympic Association.<br />
On his replacement as President in 1987<br />
by Ichiro Ogimura of Japan, he was<br />
made Honorary ITTF Life President and<br />
until his death in 1998 he continued <strong>to</strong><br />
take an active interest in the affairs of<br />
the International Table Tennis Federation.<br />
In 1988 the President of the International<br />
Olympic Committee, Juan An<strong>to</strong>nio<br />
Samaranch, presented him with<br />
the Olympic Order in recognition of his<br />
contributions <strong>to</strong> table tennis and <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Olympic Movement.<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
PHOTO:ETTA ARCHIVES<br />
Recognition Confirmation of table tennis as an Olympic sport<br />
74<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Bill Vint, by contrast with the extrovert<br />
Roy Evans, was quiet and reserved; he<br />
was a meticulous organiser and administra<strong>to</strong>r<br />
and his part in the negotiations<br />
was <strong>to</strong> deal with what Roy probably regarded<br />
as the tiresome details. He was<br />
born in Hastings in 1906 and he lived<br />
and worked there throughout his life.<br />
In 1931 he became Honorary Treasurer<br />
of the English Table Tennis Association<br />
(ETTA), a position he held until 1958;<br />
from 1950-61 he combined this post<br />
with that of ETTA Honorary General<br />
Secretary. On relinquishing the Treasurership<br />
he became Chairman, retiring in<br />
1962 but in 1970 he was elected for a<br />
three year term as ETTA President and<br />
was later made Honorary Life Vice-President<br />
of the Association.<br />
His association with the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation began in 1947,<br />
when he was appointed its Honorary<br />
Treasurer; in 1950 he <strong>to</strong>ok over also as<br />
Honorary General Secretary. He was responsible<br />
for setting up the first professional<br />
ITTF Secretariat, handing over his<br />
secretarial duties in 1977; for his services<br />
<strong>to</strong> table tennis he was awarded the<br />
O.B.E. in 1957 and in 1984 he was the<br />
first recipient of the newly established<br />
ITTF Merit Award. He died in 1993.<br />
The first post-war mention of Olympic<br />
recognition was at the 1967 Biennial<br />
General Meeting, where a proposal from<br />
the French Federation that the possibility<br />
be investigated received strong support.<br />
A number of Associations stressed<br />
that recognition would alone be of<br />
great help <strong>to</strong> them in seeking support<br />
from their Governments and National<br />
Olympic Committees and that participation<br />
in the Games was not an essential.<br />
Over the next four years discussions<br />
were held with various International<br />
Bill Vint<br />
ITTF Treasurer 1947-69<br />
ITTF Secretary 1969-77<br />
Olympic Committee officials but at the<br />
1971 Biennial General Meeting there<br />
was a discouraging report. It had become<br />
clear that the Constitution of the<br />
International Table Tennis Federation<br />
would preclude any chance of Olympic<br />
recognition, as the International Olympic<br />
Committee would want a firm declaration<br />
that the Federation was an amateur<br />
body.<br />
However, discussions continued and<br />
in 1973 it was reported that an official<br />
from the International Olympic Committee<br />
had indicated that minor amendments<br />
<strong>to</strong> the Constitution concerning<br />
the amateur status of players should<br />
make recognition possible.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ETTA Archives<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 75
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Table tennis was not the only sport seeking<br />
Olympic recognition and in 1975 the<br />
International Olympic Committee set up<br />
a committee <strong>to</strong> examine the situation of<br />
sports not in the Olympics programme<br />
and report <strong>to</strong> the IOC Executive Committee<br />
at its meeting during the 1976<br />
Olympiad in Montreal. In the following<br />
year it was noted that the IOC Programme<br />
Commission was studying all<br />
the applications and would be submitting<br />
its recommendations by mid-1977.<br />
Olympic Committee in Moscow in 1980,<br />
both the IOC Executive Board and the<br />
Programme Commission recommended<br />
that table tennis be included in the<br />
Olympic Games programme. However,<br />
the International Olympic Committee<br />
was becoming concerned at the everincreasing<br />
size of the Games and a decision<br />
was postponed until the next<br />
meeting of the General Assembly in<br />
September 1981, when the recommendations<br />
were unanimously accepted.<br />
At the ITTF Executive Committee meeting<br />
held in January 1977, the President<br />
expressed his concern that the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation’s application<br />
would be rejected unless changes<br />
were made <strong>to</strong> the Constitution. He proposed<br />
that suitable amendments be put<br />
<strong>to</strong> the 1977 Biennial General Meeting.<br />
These amendments were accepted by<br />
a large majority and in November 1977<br />
the International Table Tennis Federation<br />
was formally notified that the sport<br />
of table tennis had been granted Olympic<br />
recognition.<br />
Although hither<strong>to</strong> it had been emphasised<br />
that the primary objective was<br />
recognition and not participation, attention<br />
now turned <strong>to</strong> the possible inclusion<br />
of table tennis in the Games.<br />
It was first suggested that an application<br />
be made for table tennis <strong>to</strong> be included<br />
in the programme of the 1984 Winter<br />
Games in Sarajevo but this appears not<br />
<strong>to</strong> have been pursued. Many Associations<br />
supported the International Table<br />
Tennis Federation by making representations<br />
through their National Olympic<br />
Committees and their contacts with<br />
members of the International Olympic<br />
Committee.<br />
At the 83rd Session of the International<br />
The Organising Committee of the 1984<br />
Summer Games in Los Angeles then indicated<br />
that it was willing <strong>to</strong> include table<br />
tennis as a demonstration sport but<br />
the International Olympic Committee<br />
ruled that it was now <strong>to</strong>o late <strong>to</strong> amend<br />
the 1984 programme. Probably this was<br />
fortunate, as it gave further time for negotiations<br />
with the International Olympic<br />
Committee on the numbers of players<br />
and events.<br />
The initial agreement had been that the<br />
table tennis competition would comprise<br />
only men’s and women’s singles<br />
events, with 64 players in the former<br />
and 32 in the latter, but in 1982 it was<br />
agreed that there could be also men’s<br />
and women’s doubles. These would consist<br />
of 32 and 16 pairs respectively, with<br />
a limit on the <strong>to</strong>tal number of players.<br />
Efforts <strong>to</strong> increase the quota continued<br />
and by the time of the Seoul Games in<br />
1988 the number of players in the women’s<br />
singles had been raised <strong>to</strong> 48, with<br />
a corresponding increase in the number<br />
of participants.<br />
Among the conditions set by the International<br />
Olympic Committee was that<br />
the competition should include the<br />
best players in the world and that players<br />
from as many countries as possible<br />
76<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Roy Evans (Wales)<br />
ITTF Secretary 1951-67<br />
ITTF President 1967-87<br />
should be able <strong>to</strong> take part. The International<br />
Table Tennis Federation had<br />
<strong>to</strong> try <strong>to</strong> reconcile these potentially conflicting<br />
requirements.<br />
After lengthy discussions it was decided<br />
<strong>to</strong> allocate the places available in stages.<br />
First, for men’s singles, 16 of the players<br />
ranked highest on the current list were<br />
selected, subject <strong>to</strong> the restriction that<br />
there would not be more than two from<br />
the same Association. The next 44 places<br />
were then allocated <strong>to</strong> Continental Federations<br />
in proportion <strong>to</strong> the numbers<br />
of their member Associations.<br />
These Federations could select their<br />
nominees in any way they chose but <strong>to</strong><br />
achieve the widest possible representation<br />
the number of players from any<br />
Association, including those chosen by<br />
ranking, could not exceed three. The<br />
final four places were reserved for the<br />
International Table Tennis Federation,<br />
<strong>to</strong> be used for such purposes as ensuring<br />
that there were at least two players<br />
from the host Association if they had<br />
not qualified in any other way.<br />
<strong>to</strong> contain at least one player who had<br />
qualified for the singles, so the doubles<br />
pairings could not be decided until the<br />
singles qualification had been completed.<br />
The places reserved for the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation were used <strong>to</strong><br />
adjust the number of doubles entries,<br />
where the number of players qualifying<br />
from a Continent was odd. Setting up<br />
and conducting the Continental qualifying<br />
competitions occupied several<br />
months but by mid-1988 the process was<br />
complete.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Coloured Pins On A Map<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
A similar process was used for women’s<br />
singles, with the numbers reduced in<br />
proportion <strong>to</strong> the lower quota. However,<br />
for doubles, there was no World<br />
ranking list and the whole of the selection<br />
process was undertaken by Continental<br />
Federations.<br />
The limit on the <strong>to</strong>tal numbers of players<br />
and the International Olympic<br />
Committee’s rule that both players of<br />
a pair must be from the same Association<br />
meant that each doubles pair had<br />
In September of that year table tennis<br />
became a full Olympic Sport, nearly 60<br />
years after the idea had first been raised.<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 77
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
78<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 79
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
Seoul, Friday 23rd September<br />
Saturday 1st Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1988<br />
The agreement finally reached<br />
with the International Olympic<br />
Committee was that the 1988<br />
competition would consist of<br />
64 players in the men’s singles,<br />
48 in the women’s singles,<br />
32 pairs in the men’s doubles<br />
and 16 pairs in the women’s<br />
doubles.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Colin Clemett<br />
The agreement finally reached with the<br />
International Olympic Committee was<br />
that the 1988 competition would consist<br />
of 64 players in the men’s singles, 48<br />
in the women’s singles, 32 pairs in the<br />
men’s doubles and 16 pairs in the women’s<br />
doubles.<br />
However, both players in a doubles pair<br />
had <strong>to</strong> represent the same National<br />
Olympic Committee; thus a National<br />
Olympic Committee with only one singles<br />
player would need <strong>to</strong> bring in an<br />
extra player for the doubles. The strict<br />
upper limits on the <strong>to</strong>tal number of<br />
players meant that each doubles pair<br />
had <strong>to</strong> include at least one player who<br />
was qualified for the singles.<br />
Furthermore, the International Olympic<br />
80<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Committee had made clear that they expected<br />
not only that the best players in<br />
the world would take part but also that<br />
as many different countries as possible<br />
would be represented. The first task<br />
was <strong>to</strong> find a satisfac<strong>to</strong>ry compromise<br />
between these potentially conflicting<br />
requirements.<br />
For the men’s singles, 16 players were<br />
taken from the <strong>to</strong>p of the World Classification<br />
List,with not more than two<br />
from the same National Olympic Committee.<br />
Another 44 places were allocated<br />
<strong>to</strong> Continental Federations in proportion<br />
<strong>to</strong> the numbers of their member<br />
Associations - twelve each <strong>to</strong> Asia and<br />
Europe, eight each <strong>to</strong> Africa and Latin<br />
America and two each <strong>to</strong> North America<br />
and Oceania.<br />
The remaining four places were reserved<br />
as “wild cards” <strong>to</strong> deal with exceptional<br />
situations, such as <strong>to</strong> allow the inclusion<br />
of a strong player who had been unable<br />
<strong>to</strong> take part in a Continental qualifying<br />
competition, or <strong>to</strong> ensure that the host<br />
National Olympic Committee was represented<br />
if none of its players had otherwise<br />
qualified. The same principle was<br />
used for the women’s singles, with the<br />
numbers scaled down appropriately.<br />
Meanwhile, as there was no doubles<br />
ranking list, all places other than wildcards<br />
were filled by Continental selection.<br />
To broaden the scope of participation,<br />
the numbers of entries from a<br />
National Olympic Committee were limited<br />
<strong>to</strong> three players in a singles event,<br />
two pairs in a doubles event and not<br />
more than four men and four women in<br />
the competition as a whole. The qualifying<br />
procedure had <strong>to</strong> be carried out in<br />
a particular sequence, as the results of<br />
one stage could affect the choices available<br />
at a later stage.<br />
Firstly the International Table Tennis<br />
Federation announced the names of<br />
the players, who had qualified by ranking,<br />
then Continental Federations made<br />
their singles selections and after that the<br />
allocation of the singles wild cards was<br />
decided. Continents next selected their<br />
doubles pairs and the process was completed<br />
by the International Table Tennis<br />
Federation allocating the doubles wild<br />
cards.<br />
The competition was held at the Seoul<br />
National University Gymnasium, on the<br />
southern outskirts of the city. With a<br />
floor area of over 12,000 square metres<br />
the hall had ample playing space and<br />
could accommodate up <strong>to</strong> 5,000 specta<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
The venue had previously been<br />
used for the Asian Games and some deficiencies<br />
which had shown up then, such<br />
as the intrusion of daylight and a shiny<br />
floor, had now been corrected. The only<br />
problem remaining was the light colour<br />
of the flooring; this made the ball difficult<br />
<strong>to</strong> see, especially for specta<strong>to</strong>rs in<br />
the higher seats and, more important,<br />
for television cameras. The hall was at<br />
times very warm but it was decided not<br />
<strong>to</strong> use the air-conditioning so as <strong>to</strong> avoid<br />
its potential effects on the flight of the<br />
ball. The eight tables were arranged in<br />
line along the hall, with specta<strong>to</strong>r seating<br />
at the sides.<br />
The playing system was designed <strong>to</strong> provide<br />
all players with a reasonable number<br />
of matches rather than their being<br />
eliminated at the first encounter and it<br />
was in two stages.<br />
For the first stage of the singles, players<br />
were drawn in<strong>to</strong> eight groups, with<br />
eight in each men’s group and six in<br />
each women’s group. The players in<br />
each group all played each other <strong>to</strong> determine<br />
a ranking order and the two<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Chen Jing (China)<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
highest placed in each group went on<br />
<strong>to</strong> the second stage of the competition.<br />
The same principle was used for the<br />
doubles, with four groups of eight pairs<br />
in the men’s event and two groups of<br />
eight in the women’s.<br />
The second stage of all events was<br />
played as a “progressive knock-out”, a<br />
system in which losing players in each<br />
round are not eliminated but continue<br />
<strong>to</strong> play against other losers <strong>to</strong> determine<br />
the lower places of a final ranking<br />
order. Thus a player who loses in<br />
the first round of a 16-place progressive<br />
knock-out cannot end up in a position<br />
higher than ninth; if he or she loses the<br />
next match, the highest attainable position<br />
is then 12th and so on.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
The merit of this system was seen as not<br />
only providing the lower-ranked players<br />
with as many matches as possible but<br />
also giving them an incentive <strong>to</strong> continue<br />
competing for the final places. The<br />
main disadvantage was that the number<br />
of matches required in the group stage,<br />
28 for a group of eight members, meant<br />
that these matches <strong>to</strong>ok up most of the<br />
available time.<br />
Play began on Friday 23rd September<br />
and the qualifying stage was not completed<br />
until the following Wednesday,<br />
though there were up <strong>to</strong> 12 hours of<br />
play each day. Moreover, many of the<br />
group matches were between players of<br />
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vastly different ability and were of little<br />
interest other than <strong>to</strong> those directly<br />
concerned. The knock-out stages of the<br />
competition were completed in only<br />
three days and, even here, contests for<br />
the lower places did not arouse great<br />
interest either from specta<strong>to</strong>rs or from<br />
players. There were few surprises in the<br />
men’s singles qualifying groups. In most<br />
of them the highest ranked player won<br />
all of his matches and the next highest<br />
ranked lost only <strong>to</strong> the group winner<br />
but in two of them second place had <strong>to</strong><br />
be decided by games ratio.<br />
In this way Zoran Primorac (Yugoslavia)<br />
and Seiji Ono (Japan) qualified at the<br />
expense of Jörg Rosskopf (Federal Germany)<br />
and Liu Fuk Man (Hong Kong)<br />
respectively.<br />
The only really unexpected result was<br />
the elimination of Andrei Mazunov (Soviet<br />
Union), who lost <strong>to</strong> three players<br />
who were below him in the world ranking<br />
list. After this stage the numbers<br />
of Asian and European players were<br />
roughly equal and this balance continued<br />
through the first two rounds of the<br />
knock-out.<br />
Wei Qingguang,<br />
Chen Longcan (China)<br />
In the first round, Erik Lindh (Sweden),<br />
Yoo Nam Kyu (Korea) and Chen Longcan<br />
(China) all had easy vic<strong>to</strong>ries but Kim Ki<br />
Taek (Korea) was taken <strong>to</strong> five games by<br />
Xu Zengcai (China) and Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
(Sweden) struggled similarly against<br />
Leszek Kucharski (Poland).<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
The quarter-finals were remarkable for<br />
the fact that each was won by the lower<br />
ranked player. Tibor Klampar (Hungary)<br />
defeated Chen Longcan (China) and Yoo<br />
Nam Kyu beat Jörgen Persson (Sweden)<br />
but it was the other two results that<br />
were least expected. The World no.2,<br />
Jan-Ove Waldner, lost three-two <strong>to</strong> Kim<br />
Kai Taek and Erik Lindh beat the current<br />
World Champion Jiang Jialiang (China)<br />
three-one.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
In the semi-finals the Korean players asserted<br />
their superiority, with Yoo Nam<br />
Kyu beating Erik Lindh and Kim Kai Taek<br />
overcoming Tibor Klampar, both threenil.<br />
The final was an entertaining match<br />
with closely contested games but Yoo<br />
Nam Kyu always looked the likely winner,<br />
his powerful loop drive being just<br />
<strong>to</strong>o good for Kim Kai Taek. The play-off<br />
match for the bronze medal was won by<br />
Erik Lindh. The results of the qualifying<br />
stage in the women’s singles event were<br />
just as predictable as those in the men’s<br />
and in only one group was there an upset.<br />
The group in question was that won<br />
by the fourth ranked player, Hong Cha<br />
Ok (Korea), with Olga Nemes (Federal<br />
Germany) second; among those eliminated<br />
were two who had been expected<br />
<strong>to</strong> do well, Csilla Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi (Hungary) and<br />
Mirjam Kloppenburg (Netherlands).<br />
Hong Cha Ok continued her success in<br />
the first knock-out round, easily defeating<br />
Renata Kasalova (Czechoslovakia)<br />
but the other two Korean players, Hyun<br />
Jung Hwa and Yang Young Ja, were<br />
both beaten by Europeans. The former<br />
lost <strong>to</strong> Valentina Popova (Soviet Union),<br />
the latter <strong>to</strong> Marie Hrachova (Czechoslovakia).<br />
Yoo Nam Kyu (Korea)<br />
In the quarter-finals the strength of<br />
China became evident, all three of their<br />
players winning their matches threenil<br />
<strong>to</strong> eliminate Hong Cha Ok, Valentina<br />
Popova and Fliura Bula<strong>to</strong>va (Soviet<br />
Union). The sole European survivor was<br />
Marie Hrachova, with a decisive vic<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
over Bettine Vriesekoop (Netherlands).<br />
The semi-finals were similarly one-sided,<br />
Liu Huifen (China) beating Jiao Zhimin<br />
(China) and Chen Jing (China) overcoming<br />
Marie Hrachova, both without losing<br />
a single game.<br />
However, the final was as hard fought<br />
as the men’s had been, with Chen Jing<br />
deservedly winning in five games. In the<br />
match for third place Jiao Zhimin beat<br />
Marie Hrachova, <strong>to</strong> give China all three<br />
medals in this event.<br />
The qualifiers from the men’s doubles<br />
groups comprised two Chinese pairs,<br />
two Korean, two Swedish and one each<br />
from Poland and Yugoslavia. The only<br />
non-Asians <strong>to</strong> reach the semi-finals<br />
were Zoran Primorac and Ilija Lupulesku<br />
of Yugoslavia, who beat the Swedish<br />
partnership of Jan-Ove Waldner and Mikael<br />
Appelgren. Chen Longcan and Wei<br />
Qingguang (China) had little difficulty<br />
in beating Yoo Nam Kyu and Ahn Jae<br />
Hyung (Korea) in the first semi-final but<br />
Zoran Primorac and Ilija Lupulesku had<br />
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<strong>to</strong> battle hard in the second <strong>to</strong> defeat<br />
Kim Ki Taek and Kim Wan (Korea) by<br />
two games <strong>to</strong> one.<br />
In the final, Chen Longcan and Wei Qingguang<br />
lost the first game <strong>to</strong> Zoran Primorac<br />
and Ilija Lupulesku but <strong>to</strong>ok the<br />
next two easily <strong>to</strong> gain the gold medal.<br />
In the play-off for third place, Yoo Nam<br />
Kyu and Ahn Jae Hyung beat the other<br />
Korean pair, <strong>to</strong> give Yoo Nam Kyu a<br />
bronze medal <strong>to</strong> go with his gold for the<br />
singles.<br />
Yang Young Ja,<br />
Hyun Jung Hwa (Korea)<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
The 15 pairs in the women’s doubles<br />
played in two groups, with the <strong>to</strong>p four<br />
pairs in each group qualifying for the<br />
quarter-finals. The qualifiers comprised<br />
three Asian pairs and five Europeans<br />
but only one of the latter, Jasna Fazlic<br />
and Gordana Perkucin (Yugoslavia),<br />
reached the semi-final, where they lost<br />
<strong>to</strong> China’s Chen Jing and Jiao Zhimin.<br />
In the other semi-final, Hyun Jung Hwa<br />
and Yang Young Ja of Korea beat Mika<br />
Hoshino and Kyomi Ishida (Japan) and<br />
in the final they proved <strong>to</strong>o strong<br />
for Chen Jing and Jiao Zhimin. In the<br />
bronze medal play-off, Jasna Fazlic and<br />
Gordana Perkucin played well <strong>to</strong> defeat<br />
the Japanese pair in three games.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Colin Clemett<br />
In the period leading up <strong>to</strong> the Olympics,<br />
there had been some concern that<br />
the remoteness of the site from the main<br />
competition venues and the difficulty of<br />
transport when the roads were crowded<br />
would discourage specta<strong>to</strong>rs but these<br />
fears proved groundless.<br />
Throughout the competition the hall<br />
was full or near full; over 65,000 tickets<br />
were sold and it was said later that table<br />
tennis had been the first of all the sports<br />
in Seoul <strong>to</strong> fill its seating capacity.<br />
Notably, this was not due solely <strong>to</strong> the<br />
prowess of the home players, as over<br />
70% of the tickets were sold before it<br />
was known which players would win<br />
through <strong>to</strong> the later stages. Despite<br />
some problems, the initial Olympics table<br />
tennis competition was very successful<br />
and the sport had justified its inclusion<br />
in the Games.<br />
Seoul University<br />
Gymnasium<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Barcelona´92<br />
Thus both semi-finals saw a European player competing against an Asian player and<br />
in both cases the European player was successful. Jan-Ove Waldner disposed of Kim<br />
Taek Soo in straight games but Jean-Philippe Gatien was made <strong>to</strong> fight all the way<br />
by Ma Wenge.<br />
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Barcelona´92<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
Perhaps in recognition of the success<br />
of the first Olympics table tennis<br />
competition in 1988, the International<br />
Olympic Committee agreed that in<br />
Barcelona the numbers of places in<br />
the women’s events could be the same<br />
as in the men’s, with a corresponding<br />
increase in the <strong>to</strong>tal number of players<br />
taking part.<br />
The latter increase was, however, not<br />
enough <strong>to</strong> allow relaxation of the condition<br />
set in Seoul that at least one<br />
member of each doubles pair must<br />
be a player who had qualified for the<br />
singles. The system of allocating places<br />
by a combination of ranking and Continental<br />
selection had proved generally<br />
acceptable, so the same principle was<br />
used again for this and all subsequent<br />
Olympics competitions, with only minor<br />
modifications.<br />
There had been widespread criticism of<br />
the groups played in the Seoul competition.<br />
Eight players in a group, there<br />
were inevitably wide differences in playing<br />
ability among its members, with the<br />
result that many of the matches were<br />
very one-sided. While it was obviously<br />
<strong>to</strong> the benefit of the weaker players <strong>to</strong><br />
have as much competitive play as possible,<br />
matches that could have no possible<br />
effect on the outcome of the group<br />
were of little interest <strong>to</strong> specta<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
Lu Lin and Wang Tao (China)<br />
Also, there had been suggestions that<br />
group play should be abandoned in<br />
favour of a knock-out. After consideration,<br />
it was decided <strong>to</strong> retain the<br />
group system but <strong>to</strong> have twice as many<br />
groups of half the size, with only group<br />
winners qualifying for the second stage.<br />
It meant that the duration of the qualifying<br />
stage was reduced but by only one<br />
day. The progressive knock-out system<br />
for places in each event had not been<br />
popular with players or with specta<strong>to</strong>rs<br />
and it was clear that it was only the potential<br />
medal positions that were of interest.<br />
The second stage was, therefore,<br />
made a straight knock-out but this time<br />
with no play-off for the bronze medals.<br />
The International Olympic Committee<br />
had accepted the argument that it was<br />
cus<strong>to</strong>mary in ITTF World Championships<br />
for both losing semi-finalists <strong>to</strong> be given<br />
equal third ranking; a similar arrangement<br />
had already been agreed for lawn<br />
tennis. However, while it meant that the<br />
number of medals awarded was great-<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Jean-Philippe Gatien (France)<br />
er, there were some who felt that it<br />
also diminished the value of the bronze<br />
medals and would have preferred them<br />
<strong>to</strong> be more clearly won.<br />
The competition was held in a converted<br />
railway station, the former Estacio<br />
del Nord, and one of its great assets was<br />
that it was just about within walking<br />
distance of where players and officials<br />
were staying. The building had already<br />
been used for meetings and rallies but<br />
it was completely refurbished for the<br />
Olympics table tennis competition.<br />
Throughout the work there had been<br />
frequent discussions between the architect<br />
and representatives of the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation, with<br />
the object of meeting the particular requirements<br />
of table tennis; this proved<br />
very successful. It was found possible<br />
<strong>to</strong> provide within the building playing<br />
space for up <strong>to</strong> eight tables, seating for<br />
5,000 specta<strong>to</strong>rs and a good-sized practice<br />
hall, as well as the usual offices and<br />
rest areas.<br />
The summer temperature in Barcelona<br />
made it necessary <strong>to</strong> use air-conditioning.<br />
There was an initial problem with<br />
draughts but eventually a setting was<br />
found which kept the hall at a <strong>to</strong>lerable<br />
temperature and did not unduly<br />
affect the ball. Extensive use was made<br />
of electrical score indica<strong>to</strong>rs, although<br />
there were criticisms that they tried <strong>to</strong><br />
show <strong>to</strong>o much information; the digits<br />
were consequently rather small and difficult<br />
<strong>to</strong> read. The quartz halogen lighting<br />
was excellent but, when a genera<strong>to</strong>r<br />
failed one day, the break was extended<br />
by about twenty minutes owing <strong>to</strong> the<br />
need <strong>to</strong> let the lights cool down before<br />
being switched on again.<br />
An experimental innovation for the final<br />
stages was the use of ball-boys and<br />
ball-girls stationed at the four corners<br />
of the playing area. Their function was<br />
<strong>to</strong> retrieve the ball when it ended up a<br />
long way from the table and return it<br />
<strong>to</strong> the next server, so as <strong>to</strong> avoid delays<br />
and save players the trouble and effort<br />
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Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Jan-Ove Waldner (Sweden)<br />
of doing so. This did not prove entirely<br />
successful.<br />
Not only did it make the playing area<br />
appear crowded but many players felt<br />
that they were being unnecessarily<br />
rushed and preferred the opportunity<br />
of a slight pause between rallies, so it<br />
was not repeated.<br />
The reduction in the size of groups<br />
raised somewhat the level of play during<br />
the qualifying stages, with a greater<br />
proportion of entertaining matches. In<br />
the men’s singles, most of the players,<br />
whose entry had been determined by<br />
their World ranking, had little difficulty<br />
in winning their groups but two notable<br />
exceptions were Ilija Lupulesku (Yugoslavia)<br />
who lost <strong>to</strong> Li Gung San (North<br />
Korea) in the decisive match and Kim<br />
Song Hui (North Korea), who was beaten<br />
by Steffen Fetzner (Germany).<br />
The only group winner who had not<br />
qualified for entry either by ranking<br />
or by Continental selection was Paul<br />
Haldan (Netherlands), he had received<br />
one of the “wild cards”. The main opposition<br />
in his group came from Mikael<br />
Appelgren (Sweden), whom he beat in<br />
three games.<br />
In the first round of the knock-out,<br />
Jean-Philippe Gatien (France) beat the<br />
1988 champion Yoo Nam Kyu (Korea) in<br />
a match of five closely contested games,<br />
winning the last 21-19.<br />
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Kim Taek Soo (Korea) came close <strong>to</strong><br />
defeat. He lost the first two games <strong>to</strong><br />
Zoran Primorac, who competed as an<br />
Independent Olympic Participant owing<br />
the conflict in the former Yugoslavia,<br />
and reached 20-20 the third, before<br />
winning that game and then taking the<br />
last two more easily.<br />
Ma Wenge (China) and Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
(Sweden) won their respective<br />
quarter-finals against Jörgen Persson<br />
(Sweden) and Jörg Rosskopf (Germany)<br />
fairly comfortably but Kim Taek Soo had<br />
another difficult match against Wang<br />
Tao (China), who was leading for most<br />
of the fifth game but failed <strong>to</strong> win the<br />
last few crucial points. Jean-Philippe Gatien’s<br />
quarter-final against Ding Yi (Austria)<br />
also went <strong>to</strong> five games but Ding Yi<br />
seemed <strong>to</strong> give up in the fifth game and<br />
Jean-Philippe Gatien won 21-5.<br />
Barcelona´92<br />
Thus both semi-finals saw a European<br />
player competing against an Asian player<br />
and in both cases the European player<br />
was successful. Jan-Ove Waldner disposed<br />
of Kim Taek Soo in straight games<br />
but Jean-Philippe Gatien was made <strong>to</strong><br />
fight all the way by Ma Wenge.<br />
Notably, the finalists had reached that<br />
stage with very different records. Jan-<br />
Ove Waldner had not been seriously<br />
challenged, having dropped only one<br />
game, <strong>to</strong> Jörg Rosskopf in the semi-final,<br />
whereas Gatien had won only narrowly<br />
in each round.<br />
In the final, this difference was apparent.<br />
Jan-Ove Waldner, full of confidence,<br />
swept aside a hesitant Jean-Philippe Gatien<br />
<strong>to</strong> win the first game 21-10. The<br />
Frenchman then staged something of<br />
a revival and the next two games were<br />
progressively closer but there was little<br />
doubt who would win and Jan-Ove<br />
Waldner duly <strong>to</strong>ok the gold medal, <strong>to</strong><br />
the obvious delight of the King and<br />
Queen of Sweden who were among the<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Colin Clemett<br />
Early stages in progress<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Barcelona´92<br />
The outcome of the women’s singles<br />
groups was similar <strong>to</strong> that of the men’s<br />
in that most of the players who had<br />
qualified by World ranking progressed<br />
<strong>to</strong> the knock-out. Two who did not were<br />
Chan Tan Lui (Hong Kong), beaten easily<br />
by Emilia Ciosu (Romania) and France’s<br />
Wang Xiaoming, who lost in three<br />
games <strong>to</strong> Kim Hye Yong (North Korea).<br />
However, unlike the men’s event, at this<br />
stage all but three of the sixteen qualifiers<br />
were from Asian countries and their<br />
dominance increased further in the first<br />
round of the knock-out. Of the Europeans<br />
only Emilia Ciosu reached the quarter-finals,<br />
with a decisive vic<strong>to</strong>ry over<br />
Kim Hye Yong. Meanwhile, of the others,<br />
Bettine Vriesekoop (Netherlands)<br />
was beaten by Hyun Jung Hwa (Korea),<br />
Otilia Badescu (Romania) lost a hard<br />
match <strong>to</strong> Li Bun Hui (North Korea) and<br />
Csilla Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi had no answer <strong>to</strong> Deng<br />
Yaping (China). Both Japanese players,<br />
Fumiyo Yamashita and Mika Hoshino,<br />
also were eliminated in this round.<br />
At the quarter-final stage Deng Yaping<br />
continued her winning way by defeating<br />
Yu Sun Bok (North Korea) and her<br />
compatriot Qiao Hong beat Chai Po<br />
Wa (Hong Kong) but the third Chinese<br />
player Chen Zihe, lost <strong>to</strong> Korea’s Li Bun<br />
Hui. Emilia Ciosu’s progress ended when<br />
she lost a long match against Hyun Jung<br />
Hwa, although she had led at one stage<br />
by two games <strong>to</strong> one.<br />
In the semi-finals, Hyun Jung Hwa never<br />
looked likely <strong>to</strong> oust Deng Yaping and<br />
Qiao Hong was never in real trouble<br />
against Li Bun Hui. In the final Qiao<br />
Hong was suffering from an ankle injury<br />
she had sustained, which somewhat<br />
impaired her mobility, but it is impossible<br />
<strong>to</strong> say whether this affected the<br />
outcome. Deng Yaping won the first<br />
two games 21-6 and 21-8 but then, surprisingly,<br />
lost the third. It was the only<br />
game she lost throughout the event.<br />
She won the next game 25-23 <strong>to</strong> take<br />
the first of her gold medals.<br />
As there was no World doubles ranking,<br />
the entries for these events were<br />
seeded using lists specially prepared by<br />
the ITTF Ranking Committee. The results<br />
of the group stage were generally<br />
in accordance with this order but there<br />
were a few surprises, the main one in<br />
the men’s event being that neither of<br />
the two Swedish pairs qualified for the<br />
knock-out. Erik Lindh and Jörgen Persson<br />
(Sweden), the no.1 seeds, lost <strong>to</strong> the<br />
16th-ranked Kang Hee Chan and Lee<br />
Chul Seung (Korea) while Mikael Appelgren<br />
and Jan-Ove Waldner, ranked<br />
fifth, were beaten by Slobodan Grujic<br />
and Ilija Lupulesku (Independent).<br />
In one quarter-final Kang Hee Chan<br />
and Lee Chul Seung went on <strong>to</strong> defeat<br />
Ma Wenge and Yu Shen<strong>to</strong>ng (China),<br />
seeded seven places above them, but<br />
Slobodan Grujic and Ilija Lupulesku<br />
were unable <strong>to</strong> repeat their success in<br />
the group and were beaten comprehensively<br />
by the former World champions<br />
Steffen Fetzner and Jörg Rosskopf (Germany).<br />
In the other quarter-finals, Yoo Nam<br />
Kyu and Kim Taek Soo (Korea) defeated<br />
the Mazunov brothers Andrei and Dmitrij,<br />
who were classified as representing<br />
the Union of Independent States;<br />
it was a time when the Soviet Union<br />
was breaking up. Lu Lin and Wang Tao<br />
(China) overcame Daniel Eloi and Jean-<br />
Philippe Gatien (France).<br />
Both Korean pairs lost their semi-finals,<br />
Kang Hee Chan and Lee Chul Seung<br />
<strong>to</strong> Steffen Fetzner and Jörg Rosskopf,<br />
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Yoo Nam Kyu and Kim Taek Soo <strong>to</strong> Lu<br />
Lin and Wang Hao. In the first game of<br />
the final the German pair led 20-15 but<br />
eventually lost 24-26. They did win two<br />
games in a high-quality match which<br />
lasted over an hour but the determination<br />
of the Chinese pair prevailed and<br />
they <strong>to</strong>ok the gold medal.<br />
The only unexpected result in the women’s<br />
doubles groups was the defeat of<br />
the sixth ranked pair, Jasna Fazlic and<br />
Gordana Perkucin (Yugoslavia) by the<br />
Netherlands’ Bettine Vriesekoop and<br />
her partner Mirjam Hooman. However,<br />
this was their last win and they were<br />
knocked out in the quarter-final by<br />
Deng Yaping and Qiao Hong (China).<br />
The other Chinese pair, Chen Zihe and<br />
Gao Jun beat Chai Po Wa and Chan<br />
Tan Lui (Hong Kong) with the remaining<br />
semi-final places going <strong>to</strong> Li Bun Hui<br />
and Yu Sun Bok (DPR Korea) and Hong<br />
Cha Ok and Hyun Jung Wa (Korea).<br />
The Chinese pairs won both of the semi-<br />
finals three-one and in the final Deng<br />
Yaping and Qiao Hong, the no.2 seeds,<br />
defeated the no.1 seeds Chen Zihe and<br />
Gao Jun, giving Deng Yaping her second<br />
gold medal of the 1992 Games.<br />
The first Olympics table tennis competition<br />
had been an entirely new venture<br />
for the International Table Tennis Federation.<br />
Experience in Seoul had shown<br />
that organising a competition within<br />
the structure of the Olympics presented<br />
difficulties that were unlikely <strong>to</strong> be encountered<br />
in the organisation of, for<br />
example, a World Championships and<br />
that, despite the difference in scale between<br />
the two competitions, could be<br />
equally difficult <strong>to</strong> overcome.<br />
In Barcelona, the organisers <strong>to</strong>ok full<br />
advantage of the lessons that had been<br />
learned in Seoul, particularly in relation<br />
<strong>to</strong> presentation <strong>to</strong> the public and<br />
the media. Once again table tennis was<br />
widely seen <strong>to</strong> stand comparison with<br />
the longer-established Olympic sports.<br />
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ATLANTA 1996<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
The table tennis competition was held in<br />
the Georgia World Congress Center, the<br />
second largest convention centre in the<br />
United States, located in down<strong>to</strong>wn Atlanta.<br />
Transport between the venue and<br />
the places where players and officials<br />
were staying was a problem throughout<br />
the Games, in spite of the fact that<br />
many of the roads had dedicated lanes<br />
for Olympics vehicles. As the hall was<br />
below ground level with no natural ventilation,<br />
air conditioning was essential.<br />
Bearing in mind the problems with air<br />
currents at the Barcelona Games, it was<br />
decided <strong>to</strong> use an airlock system <strong>to</strong> restrict<br />
the flow of air and this proved<br />
very successful. The temperature was<br />
generally maintained at a comfortable<br />
level both for players and for specta<strong>to</strong>rs,<br />
while air movement over the field of<br />
play was negligible.<br />
There was ample room for up <strong>to</strong> eight<br />
tables in line and seating for 4,000 specta<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
The existing lighting was adequate<br />
by international table tennis standards<br />
but it had <strong>to</strong> be increased <strong>to</strong> meet<br />
the level agreed by the International<br />
Olympic Committee for press pho<strong>to</strong>graphers<br />
and this caused some problems.<br />
Careful positioning of the additional<br />
light sources was needed <strong>to</strong> avoid their<br />
shining directly in<strong>to</strong> the faces of the players<br />
and this was not entirely achieved.<br />
During the men’s singles quarter-finals<br />
the lights failed when someone elsewhere<br />
in the centre switched off the<br />
supply by mistake and, as in Barcelona,<br />
there was a 20 minute interval before<br />
they had cooled enough for the lighting<br />
<strong>to</strong> be res<strong>to</strong>red.<br />
The competition was well supported by<br />
the public and, again, table tennis was<br />
one of the first sports <strong>to</strong> sell out all of its<br />
tickets, although not all seats were occupied<br />
at all sessions.<br />
The <strong>to</strong>tal attendance of over 53,000<br />
would probably have been even higher<br />
had there not been what proved <strong>to</strong> be<br />
an unnecessarily generous allocation of<br />
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seats for players and officials.<br />
Seldom were these fully used and the<br />
resulting empty spaces gave a slightly<br />
misleading impression of the level of<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>r interest.<br />
A feature of the organisation was the<br />
information system, claimed <strong>to</strong> be the<br />
most comprehensive ever provided at<br />
a table tennis event. It made continually<br />
updated details of match progress,<br />
scores and results available <strong>to</strong> specta<strong>to</strong>rs<br />
and the media; it was very well received.<br />
The playing system was essentially the<br />
same as in previous Olympics. The qualifying<br />
stage consisted of groups of four<br />
players or four pairs, sixteen in the singles<br />
and eight in the doubles, with all<br />
matches the best of three games. Group<br />
winners progressed <strong>to</strong> the knock-out, in<br />
which matches were best of five games<br />
for both singles and doubles.<br />
Once again there were comments that<br />
the qualifying stage, in which many<br />
matches clearly would have no effect on<br />
the outcome of the competition, was of<br />
little interest <strong>to</strong> specta<strong>to</strong>rs, occupied far<br />
<strong>to</strong>o much of the time available and detracted<br />
from the status of the sport.<br />
was obtained and this clearly did not enhance<br />
the presentation. However, even<br />
after the delays the whole process was<br />
completed in less than an hour, a considerable<br />
improvement over the time<br />
taken by previous manual draws.<br />
The group stage of the men’s singles<br />
produced a few shock results, with two<br />
former World Champions failing <strong>to</strong><br />
qualify. The 1991 winner Jörgen Persson<br />
(Sweden) was beaten by Hugo Hoyama<br />
(Brazil) and the 1993 winner Jean-<br />
Philippe Gatien (France) lost <strong>to</strong> Petr Korbel<br />
(Czech Republic). Another strong<br />
Swedish player, Peter Karlsson, was also<br />
eliminated, losing <strong>to</strong> Dmitrij Mazunov<br />
(Russia).<br />
Meanwhile, in one group Johnny Huang<br />
(Canada) beat two other former Chinese<br />
players, David Zhuang (U.S.A.) and Chen<br />
Xinhua (Great Britain) and he went on<br />
<strong>to</strong> achieve another unexpected result in<br />
the first round of the knock-out, when<br />
he beat the 1992 Olympic champion,<br />
Jan-Ove Waldner (Sweden) three-one.<br />
The outstanding win of the stage was<br />
by Kim Taek Soo (Korea), who defeated<br />
the incumbent World no.1 Kong Linghui<br />
(China) four-one.<br />
For the first time in the Olympics, the<br />
initial draw was made entirely by computer<br />
with the results being shown on<br />
a video screen but this was not entirely<br />
successful. Although the program had<br />
been extensively tested and there had<br />
been a thorough dress rehearsal the<br />
previous day, when it came <strong>to</strong> the actual<br />
draw the computer insisted on drawing<br />
the same player in<strong>to</strong> two different<br />
groups in the men’s singles.<br />
Unfortunately, this event had <strong>to</strong> be redrawn<br />
twice before a legitimate result<br />
Johnny Huang’s progress ended in the<br />
quarter-finals, when he lost in four<br />
games <strong>to</strong> Liu Guoliang (China) but Petr<br />
Korbel reached the semi-final with a<br />
three-nil win over Jean - Michel Saive<br />
(Belgium). The other two quarter-final<br />
matches were much closer, with Wang<br />
Tao defeating Vladimir Samsonov (Belarus)<br />
three - two and Jörg Rosskopf<br />
(Germany) overcoming Kim Taek Soo<br />
26-24 in the fifth.<br />
From then on it became an all-Chinese<br />
event, when Liu Guoliang and Wang<br />
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Chen Jing (Chinese Taipei)<br />
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Kong Linghui and<br />
Liu Guoliang<br />
(China)<br />
Tao proved <strong>to</strong>o strong for Jörg Rosskopf<br />
and Petr Korbel respectively in the semifinals.<br />
In the final the first four games saw the<br />
two players equally matched but in the<br />
fifth Liu Guoliang seemed <strong>to</strong> gain new<br />
strength and he won 21-6. In the playoff<br />
for third place, Jörg Rosskopf beat<br />
Petr Korbel <strong>to</strong> gain his second Olympic<br />
medal.<br />
There were fewer surprises in the women’s<br />
singles qualifying stage but Sweden’s<br />
women players fared no better<br />
here than their men had done; both<br />
Åsa Svensson and Marie Svensson failed<br />
<strong>to</strong> win their respective groups. Other<br />
World ranked players who were eliminated<br />
before the knock-out included<br />
Rika Sa<strong>to</strong> (Japan), Jie Schöpp (Germany)<br />
and Irina Palina (Russia), as well as Emilia<br />
Ciosu (Romania), who had reached<br />
the quarter-finals in Barcelona.<br />
In the first round of the knock-out, all<br />
three Chinese players had easy vic<strong>to</strong>ries<br />
but Chire Koyama (Japan) only just managed<br />
<strong>to</strong> beat Tu Jong Sil (DPR Korea).<br />
There was another close contest that<br />
ended controversially, between Kim<br />
Hyon Hui (DPR Korea) and Chai Po Wa<br />
(Hong Kong), Early in the match Chai Po<br />
Wa had been formally warned for striking<br />
the table with her free hand when<br />
she lost an important point. Losing 20-<br />
21 in the fourth game she did this again;<br />
the umpire awarded a penalty point <strong>to</strong><br />
Kim Hyon Hui, who thereby won the<br />
match three-one.<br />
All of the quarter finals were won in<br />
three straight games. Deng Yaping (China)<br />
beat Nicole Struse (Germany), Qiao<br />
Hong (China) overcame Chire Koyama,<br />
Liu Wei (China) defeated Kim Hyon<br />
Hui and Chen Jing, now representing<br />
Chinese Taipei, eliminated the second<br />
Hong Kong player, Chan Tan Lui.<br />
In the first semi-final Deng Yaping<br />
dropped her only game <strong>to</strong> date in the<br />
event in beating Liu Wei with Chen Jing<br />
experiencing a comfortable vic<strong>to</strong>ry over<br />
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Deng Yaping (China)<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Qiao Hong. Therefore, the final was<br />
between the 1988 and 1992 Olympic<br />
Champions.<br />
Deng Yaping started strongly and won<br />
the first two games but narrowly lost<br />
the next two, <strong>to</strong> set up what was expected<br />
<strong>to</strong> be a closely contested final<br />
game. However, it turned out <strong>to</strong> follow<br />
the same pattern as the men’s singles final;<br />
Deng Yaping captured the title with<br />
an easy 21-6 win, leaving Chen Jing the<br />
consolation of a silver medal <strong>to</strong> add <strong>to</strong><br />
her gold from Seoul.<br />
During the final there was a disturbance<br />
when two of Chen Jing’s supporters began<br />
waving the flag of the Republic of<br />
China, which was contrary <strong>to</strong> International<br />
Olympic Committee rules. There<br />
was a delay before the offenders were<br />
arrested by the police and taken away.<br />
The all-Chinese contest for the bronze<br />
medal was won three-one by Qiao<br />
Hong.<br />
Sweden’s disappointing results continued<br />
in the men’s doubles. In the qualifying<br />
stage Jan-Ove Waldner and Jörgen<br />
Persson progressed only after narrow<br />
wins over Danny Heister and Trinko<br />
Keen (Netherlands) followed by success<br />
in opposition <strong>to</strong> Toshio Tasaki and Ryo<br />
Yuzawa (Japan). Meanwhile, the second<br />
Swedish pair, Peter Karlsson and Thomas<br />
von Scheele, could finish no higher<br />
than third in their group.<br />
Damien Eloi and Jean-Philippe Gatien<br />
(France) were decisive winners of their<br />
group as were Steffen Fetzner and Jörg<br />
Rosskopf (Germany), who had been the<br />
losing finalists in Barcelona. The two European<br />
pairs were drawn against each<br />
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Wang Tao and Lu Lin (China)<br />
other in the quarter-finals; the result<br />
was a clear win for the Germans.<br />
In the other quarter-finals, Kong Linghui<br />
and Liu Guoliang (China) beat Koji Matsushita<br />
and Hiroshi Shibutani (Japan)<br />
three-nil, Lu Lin and Wang Tao (China)<br />
were two-one down against Kang Hee<br />
Chan and Kim Taek Soo (Korea) before<br />
winning the last two games and Sweden’s<br />
interest in the event ended. Jan-<br />
Ove Waldner and Jörgen Persson lost<br />
three-nil <strong>to</strong> the other Korean pair, Lee<br />
Chul Seung and Yoo Nam Kyu.<br />
Lu Lin and Wang Hao put an end <strong>to</strong> Germany’s<br />
hopes of another final place by<br />
beating Steffen Fetzner and Jörg Rosskopf<br />
three-nil, whilst Kong Linghui and<br />
Liu Guoliang disposed of Lee Chul Sung<br />
and Yoo Nam Kyu by the same score.<br />
In the final the Barcelona gold medallists,<br />
Lu Lin and Wang Tao had <strong>to</strong> be content<br />
this time with silver. Yoo Nam Kyu<br />
and Lee Chul Seung beat Steffen Fetzner<br />
and Jörg Rosskopf in the bronze medal<br />
match; thus Yoo Nam Kyu achieved the<br />
remarkable feat of winning the bronze<br />
medal in this event on three successive<br />
occasions, each time with a different<br />
partner.<br />
Unusually, there were three-way ties<br />
in two of the women’s doubles groups<br />
and the winners had <strong>to</strong> be determined<br />
by the ratio of games won <strong>to</strong> games<br />
lost. Both Chai Po Wa and Chan Tan Lui<br />
(Hong Kong) and Chen Chiu-Tan and<br />
Chen Jing (Chinese Taipei) qualified in<br />
this way. The losing pairs involved Csilla<br />
Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi and Krisztina Toth (Hungary)<br />
plus Åsa Svensson and Marie Svensson<br />
(Sweden).<br />
The only non-Asian pair <strong>to</strong> win a women’s<br />
doubles group was the Russian partnership<br />
of Irina Palina and Elena Timina,<br />
who went on <strong>to</strong> win one game in the<br />
quarter-final before losing <strong>to</strong> Park Hae<br />
Jung and Ryu Ji Hye (Korea).<br />
Kim Moo Kyo and Park Young Ae (Korea)<br />
and Liu Wei and Qiao Yunping<br />
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(China) both won their quarter finals<br />
three-nil and the only close match in this<br />
round was between Deng Yaping and<br />
Qiao Hong (China) against Chen Chiu-<br />
Tan and Chen Jing (Chinese Taipei).<br />
The Chinese pair won but only after surviving<br />
match points in both the fourth<br />
and fifth games.<br />
The semi-finals saw the two Korean pairs<br />
eliminated three-one, leaving the winners<br />
of this event in Barcelona <strong>to</strong> defend<br />
their title against their team-mates.<br />
They did so successfully in one of the<br />
best finals of the <strong>to</strong>urnament, watched<br />
by an enthusiastic crowd. The play-off<br />
match for the bronze medal was won by<br />
Park Hae Jung and Ryu Ji Hye.<br />
However the officials from the International<br />
Table Tennis Federation, who<br />
stayed in the hotel nearest the venue<br />
may remember these Games for an incident<br />
unconnected with table tennis.<br />
The daily route <strong>to</strong> the Congress Center<br />
was through the Centennial Olympic<br />
Park, which had been designed as<br />
the “<strong>to</strong>wn centre” of the Olympics. At<br />
1.20am on Saturday 27th July a bomb<br />
placed there by a political extremist exploded,<br />
killing one person and injuring<br />
over 100 others. There was even a suggestion<br />
that the Games should be cancelled<br />
but this was dismissed and there<br />
was no further trouble.<br />
The perpetra<strong>to</strong>r, Eric Rudolph, was not<br />
caught until five years later. He is now<br />
serving a life sentence with no possibility<br />
of parole.<br />
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OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
SYDNEY 2000<br />
Sydney, Saturday 16th – Monday 25th September 2000<br />
Jan-Ove Waldner and Liu Guoliang, were also previous Olympic gold<br />
medallists. To add <strong>to</strong> the interest, they represented the two countries which<br />
had dominated world table tennis in recent years, China and Sweden.<br />
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The table tennis competition was held<br />
in the State Sports Centre, one of the<br />
buildings in the Olympic Park, situated<br />
in the Homebush Bay area about 15<br />
kilometres west of the city.<br />
In the 1980s and 1990s it had been<br />
used mainly as a basketball arena and<br />
it later became the home venue of a<br />
professional netball team.<br />
A <strong>to</strong>tal of 5,000 specta<strong>to</strong>r seats were<br />
situated round all sides of the hall<br />
with the front rows coming <strong>to</strong> within<br />
a few metres of the field of play; this<br />
proved very popular with specta<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
As in Atlanta, careful control of access<br />
ensured efficient air-conditioning<br />
without unwanted air currents and the<br />
hall was never <strong>to</strong>o warm even when the<br />
outside temperature was in the thirties.<br />
A further step was taken in reducing the<br />
proportion of competition time taken<br />
Kong Linghui<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: John Oros<br />
by the qualifying stage. In both singles<br />
events the 16 highest-ranked players<br />
were given direct entry <strong>to</strong> a 32-place<br />
knock-out, while the other 48 played<br />
in groups of three for the remaining<br />
16 places; a similar arrangement was<br />
used for the doubles, with the numbers<br />
halved.<br />
This offered two possible advantages.<br />
First, the reduction in the size of the<br />
groups would mean there were fewer<br />
matches <strong>to</strong> be played; second, with<br />
less disparity in playing strength within<br />
a group, matches should be more<br />
evenly contested and therefore more<br />
interesting <strong>to</strong> watch.<br />
There were few unexpected results in<br />
the qualifying stage but there were<br />
several in the first round of the knockout.<br />
Lucjan Blasczyzk (Poland) easily<br />
beat Jean-Philippe Gatien (France),<br />
whose father and keenest supporter,<br />
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lost only narrowly <strong>to</strong> Werner Schlager<br />
(Austria). Jörg Rosskopf defeated<br />
Toshio Tasaki in five games but Vladimir<br />
Samsonov (Belarus) was much <strong>to</strong>o strong<br />
for Chris<strong>to</strong>phe Legout.<br />
Meanwhile Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
(Sweden), who had experienced such<br />
a disappointing time in Atlanta, beat<br />
Jean-Michel Saive (Belgium) threeone<br />
<strong>to</strong> reach the quarter-finals. Here<br />
he won a long match against Vladimir<br />
Samsonov, taking the fifth game 21-19.<br />
His fellow Swede, Jörgen Persson, joined<br />
him in the semi-finals by defeating Liu<br />
Guozheng (China). In the other quarterfinals<br />
Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang<br />
of China reached that stage with wins<br />
over Werner Schlager and Jörg Rosskopf<br />
respectively.<br />
Yan Sen and Wang Liqin<br />
René, had died recently. Unsurprisingly,<br />
he did not seem <strong>to</strong> be in the right frame<br />
of mind for competitive play.<br />
More surprisingly, neither of the<br />
Korean players survived this round, Kim<br />
Taek Soo being beaten by Timo Boll<br />
(Germany) and Ryu Seung Min losing a<br />
five game match <strong>to</strong> Chris<strong>to</strong>phe Legout<br />
(France). Jörg Rosskopf (Germany),<br />
who had taken part in every Olympics<br />
table tennis competition, had a good<br />
win over Sweden’s Peter Karlsson but<br />
Zoran Primorac (Croatia), another longtime<br />
competi<strong>to</strong>r, lost three-nil <strong>to</strong> Toshio<br />
Tasaki (Japan).<br />
The next round saw some close matches.<br />
Lucjan Blasczyzk showed that his win<br />
against Jean-Philippe Gatien was not<br />
due entirely <strong>to</strong> his opponent’s lack of<br />
form, when he <strong>to</strong>ok the no.1 seed Kong<br />
Linghui <strong>to</strong> five games, while Timo Boll<br />
Wang Liqin and Yen Sen<br />
celebrate vic<strong>to</strong>ry over Kong<br />
Linghui and Liu Guoliang<br />
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The Olympic Park<br />
The quality of the event was shown by<br />
the fact that all four semi-finalists were<br />
past World champions and two of them,<br />
Jan-Ove Waldner and Liu Guoliang, were<br />
also previous Olympic gold medallists.<br />
To add <strong>to</strong> the interest, they represented<br />
the two countries which had dominated<br />
world table tennis in recent years, China<br />
and Sweden.<br />
In the first semi-final, Jörgen Persson<br />
could win only one game against Kong<br />
Linghui but in the other, Jan-Ove<br />
Waldner beat Liu Guoliang comfortably<br />
in three games. Thus the stage was set<br />
for what would be a worthy Olympic<br />
final.<br />
Kong Linghui and Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
had played each other on a number of<br />
occasions, with fairly even results but<br />
Kong Linghui’s recent form had been<br />
slightly more impressive. He won the first<br />
two games but then Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
staged a recovery <strong>to</strong> take the next two<br />
before falling away in the fifth <strong>to</strong> give<br />
Kong Linghui a 10-1 lead. He fought<br />
back but did not quite recover from this<br />
poor start and lost 13-21. His compatriot<br />
The Sydney Scene<br />
The State Sports Centre<br />
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Chang Yen-Shu versus Vladimir Samsonov<br />
Other Chinese emigrants did better<br />
against higher-ranked opponents,<br />
Geng Lijuan (Canada) defeated Tamara<br />
Boros (Croatia) and Qianhong Gotsch<br />
(Germany) accounted for Rinko Sakata<br />
(Japan). By the end of this round the<br />
strength of Asian women in world table<br />
Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of tennis was beginning <strong>to</strong> show, with only<br />
Sweden, with wife Silvia<br />
two of the last 16 not being of Asian<br />
watching, greets Jan-Ove Waldner origin.<br />
Jörgen Persson was equally unsuccessful<br />
in the play-off for the bronze medal,<br />
which went <strong>to</strong> Liu Guoliang.<br />
In the women’s singles, it was not until<br />
the first round of the knock-out that<br />
there were any surprises, perhaps the<br />
biggest being the three-nil defeat of the<br />
World no.4, Sun Jin (China), by Jing Jun<br />
Hong (Singapore). Two former Chinese<br />
players, now representing Germany,<br />
were also unexpectedly eliminated<br />
at this stage, Jie Schöpp losing in five<br />
games <strong>to</strong> Tong Feiming (Chinese Taipei)<br />
and Jing Tian-Zörner falling similarly <strong>to</strong><br />
Åsa Svensson (Sweden).<br />
The balance swung even further in<br />
Asia’s favour in the next round, where<br />
Krisztina Toth (Hungary) lost threenil<br />
<strong>to</strong> Chen Jing (Chinese Taipei) and<br />
Ni Xia Lian was beaten by the same<br />
margin by Li Ju (China). Meanwhile, in<br />
an all-European match Mihaela Steff<br />
(Romania) beat Åsa Svensson three-two,<br />
the only other European representative<br />
<strong>to</strong> survive being Qianhong Gotsch who<br />
beat Suk Eun Mi (Korea) three-two.<br />
Wang Nan (China) won a difficult match<br />
against Li Jiawei (Singapore), having<br />
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Li Ju and Wang Nan Celebrate<br />
and Li Ju beating Jing Jun Hong, in each<br />
case by three games <strong>to</strong> one.<br />
Once again, the final lived up <strong>to</strong> its<br />
promise. Wang Nan won the first game<br />
but then Li Ju rallied <strong>to</strong> take the next<br />
two before Wang Nan’s persistence<br />
finally gave her vic<strong>to</strong>ry. In the play-off<br />
for third place, Chen Jing beat Jing Jun<br />
Hong <strong>to</strong> complete her set of Olympic<br />
medals, having won gold in Seoul and<br />
silver in Atlanta.<br />
As in the men’s singles, the results of<br />
the men’s doubles qualifying stage were<br />
fairly predictable, the winning pair in<br />
each group being undefeated and all<br />
but six of the 24 matches being decided<br />
two-nil.<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
lost two games and being 16-20 down<br />
in the fourth. Two other quarter-final<br />
matches were decided after the score<br />
had reached 20-20 in the fifth game. In<br />
one, Ryu Ji Hye (Korea) beat An Konishi<br />
(Japan) and in the other Jing Jun Hong<br />
beat Geng Lijuan, both players having<br />
won 20-20 games earlier in that match.<br />
After the quarter-finals the Asian<br />
dominance was complete. Wang Nan<br />
had a fairly easy vic<strong>to</strong>ry over Chire<br />
Koyama (Japan) as did Li Ju (China)<br />
against Ryu Ji Hye, Jing Jun Hong had<br />
<strong>to</strong> fight hard against Mihaela Steff and<br />
Chen Jing beat Qianhong Gotsch only<br />
after trailing two-one. Both Chinese<br />
players were successful in the semifinals,<br />
Wang Nan defeating Chen Jing<br />
One of the closest matches was between<br />
Damien Eloi and Chris<strong>to</strong>phe Legout<br />
(France) against Kurt Liu and Johnny<br />
Huang (Canada). The French pair lost the<br />
first game 11-21 and were level 20-20 in<br />
the second before they went on <strong>to</strong> win<br />
that and the deciding game. In another<br />
group, Danny Heister and Trinko Keen<br />
(Netherlands) were in a similar position<br />
against Kazeem Nosiru and Segun<br />
Toriola (Nigeria), losing the first game<br />
and taking the second only at 21-19.<br />
In the first round of the knock-out there<br />
were only two close matches. Kong<br />
Linghui and Liu Guoliang (China) beat<br />
Lucjan Blaszczyk and Tomas Krzeszewski<br />
(Poland) 21-18 in the fifth game; while<br />
Lee Chul Seung and Ryu Seung Min<br />
(Korea) were two-one down <strong>to</strong> Cheung<br />
Yuk and Leung Chu Yan (Hong Kong)<br />
before they, <strong>to</strong>o, rallied <strong>to</strong> win the last<br />
two games.<br />
The quarter-final matches were more<br />
evenly balanced. Patrick Chila and Jean-<br />
Philippe Gatien (France) qualified for<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
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Men’s Doubles Podium<br />
the semi-finals by beating Karl Jindrak<br />
and Werner Schlager (Austria) 22-20 in<br />
the fifth game and Lee Chul Seung and<br />
Ryu Seung Min were taken <strong>to</strong> 21-18 in<br />
the fifth game by Chang Yen-Shu and<br />
Chiang Peng-Lung (Chinese Taipei).<br />
Only Wang Liqin and Yan Sen (China)<br />
had an easy passage in<strong>to</strong> the next round,<br />
overcoming Damien Eloi and Chris<strong>to</strong>phe<br />
Legout in straight games.<br />
The last European pair, Patrick Chila and<br />
Jean-Philippe Gatien, was eliminated<br />
three-one in their semi-final by Kong<br />
Linghui and Liu Guoliang; in the other<br />
Wang Liqin and Yan Sen beat Lee Chul<br />
Seung and Ryu Seung Min by the same<br />
margin, <strong>to</strong> produce another all-Chinese<br />
final. The contest was won three-one by<br />
Wang Liqin and Yan Sen, so that Kong<br />
Linghui was unable <strong>to</strong> add a doubles<br />
gold medal <strong>to</strong> that of his singles title.<br />
There was consolation for Patrick Chila<br />
and Jean-Philippe Gatien. They narrowly<br />
won the play-off match for the bronze<br />
medal, in which three of the four games<br />
were decided only after the score had<br />
reached 20-all.<br />
Most of the Asian women’s doubles pairs<br />
were seeded and thus did not take part<br />
in the qualifying stage, with the result<br />
that six of the eight qualifiers were from<br />
Europe. However, even here the strength<br />
and depth of Asian women’s table<br />
tennis was again apparent; seven of the<br />
24 pairs consisted of Chinese expatriate<br />
players and in one group, comprising<br />
entries from Canada, Germany and the<br />
U.S.A., all of the players were of Chinese<br />
origin.<br />
Only two of the European qualifiers<br />
survived the first round of the knockout.<br />
Otilia Badescu and Mihaela Steff<br />
(Romania) beat Chen Jing and Xu Jing<br />
(Chinese Taipei) in straight games.<br />
However but the most exciting match<br />
was between Eldijana Aganovic and<br />
Tamara Boros (Croatia) and Jing Jun<br />
Hong and Li Jiawei (Singapore).<br />
Having won the first game and lost<br />
the next two, the Croatian pair fought<br />
back <strong>to</strong> take the next two 27-25 and<br />
25-23. In the only other five-game<br />
match Miao Miao and Shirley Zhou<br />
(Australia) beat Ni Xi Lian and Peggy<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Men’s Singles Podium<br />
Regenwetter (Luxembourg) <strong>to</strong> give the<br />
host Association a pair in the quarterfinals.<br />
Here the seeded Hungarian pair, Csilla<br />
Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi and Krisztina Toth, who in the<br />
previous round had eliminated the<br />
German qualifiers, Qianhong Gotsch<br />
and Jie Schöpp, won again, beating<br />
Lee Eun Sil and Suk Eun Mi (Korea). Li<br />
Ju and Wang Nan (China) lost only one<br />
game <strong>to</strong> Eldijana Aganovic and Tamara<br />
Boros while the other Chinese pair, Sun<br />
Jin and Yang Ying put an end <strong>to</strong> the<br />
progress of Miao Miao and Shirley Zhou.<br />
Also reaching the semi-finals were Kim<br />
Moo Kyo and Ryu Ji Hye (Korea), who<br />
<strong>to</strong>ok five games <strong>to</strong> beat Otilia Badescu<br />
and Mihaela Steff.<br />
In the first of the semi-finals Sun Jin and<br />
Yang Ying lost only one game against<br />
Csilla Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi and Krisztina Toth but Li<br />
Ju and Wang Nan had a much harder<br />
match against Kim Moo Kyo and Ryu<br />
Ji Hye in the other, winning the fifth<br />
game only 24-22.<br />
In the final Li Ju and Wang Nan never<br />
appeared <strong>to</strong> be in any difficulty and<br />
they won three-nil but the result of the<br />
play-off for the bronze medal was in<br />
doubt until the very end. Csilla Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi<br />
and Krisztina Toth <strong>to</strong>ok the first two<br />
games before losing the third 22-24 and<br />
the last two 19-21.<br />
The decision <strong>to</strong> reduce the size of the<br />
qualifying groups had been a step in<br />
the right direction but the benefits<br />
were not as great as had been hoped.<br />
Certainly the reduction in the <strong>to</strong>tal<br />
number of matches had helped in the<br />
organisation of the playing schedule<br />
but the qualifying groups had still not<br />
provided the close competition that<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>rs expected.<br />
Even with greater equality of playing<br />
strength every group was won two-nil,<br />
the winner almost invariably being the<br />
highest ranked player. The argument<br />
for a direct knock-out system from the<br />
start looked even stronger.<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
ATHENS 2004<br />
Athens, Saturday 14th – Monday 23rd August 2004<br />
For the first time, the competition was held in a purpose-built<br />
sports hall, the Galatsi Olympic Hall, located in a north-western<br />
suburb of Athens about eight kilometres from the city centre.<br />
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For the first time, the competition was<br />
held in a purpose-built sports hall, the<br />
Galatsi Olympic Hall, located in a northwestern<br />
suburb of Athens about eight<br />
kilometres from the city centre.<br />
The floor area was about 32,000 square<br />
metres and there was seating for 6,000<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>rs, ranged around all four sides.<br />
During the Games it was used in turn<br />
for table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics<br />
and it was hoped that afterwards<br />
it would become a major indoor sports<br />
facility for Athens. For a while it was the<br />
home court for the AEK Basketball Club<br />
but after they left in 2006 it was little<br />
used and it was eventually taken over<br />
by a private developer <strong>to</strong> be converted<br />
in<strong>to</strong> a shopping mall and entertainment<br />
complex.<br />
There were two substantial changes <strong>to</strong><br />
the playing system, the first being that<br />
games were now of 11 points instead<br />
of 21. The second, and more important,<br />
was that the system of qualifying<br />
groups was abandoned and all events<br />
were played on the knock-out principle<br />
throughout.<br />
However, it was recognised that the early<br />
rounds of a simple draw could bring<br />
<strong>to</strong>gether players of widely different<br />
strengths and that some way must be<br />
found of ensuring closer and more interesting<br />
matches. It was decided, therefore,<br />
<strong>to</strong> give the players ranked 1-16<br />
byes in the first two rounds and those<br />
ranked 17-33 byes in the first round. In<br />
this way players would be more closely<br />
matched from the outset and in successive<br />
rounds there should be a steady<br />
progression in the level of play.<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Chen Qi and Ma Lin (China)<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
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Greek Supporters<br />
inevitably be from different National<br />
Olympic Committees, even though they<br />
might not be the strongest pairs.<br />
It was recognised that this was not entirely<br />
fair but it was believed <strong>to</strong> be in<br />
the best interests of the competition.<br />
Moreover, it was hoped that it would<br />
be a one-off expedient and that at the<br />
next Games the doubles events would<br />
be replaced by team events, with only<br />
one entry from any one National Olympic<br />
Committee.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>:Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
Kim Taek Soo hugs Ryu Seung<br />
Min after beating Wang Hao<br />
A similar system was used for the doubles<br />
but here there was also a more controversial<br />
change. In order <strong>to</strong> ensure a wider<br />
distribution of medals it was decided<br />
that, where there were two pairs from<br />
the same National Olympic Committee,<br />
they would deliberately be drawn in<strong>to</strong><br />
opposite quarters of the same half. Thus<br />
the gold and silver medal winners would<br />
The first full round of the men’s singles<br />
included four players who had competed<br />
in every Olympics from 1988:<br />
Jörgen Persson and Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
of Sweden, Zoran Primorac of Croatia<br />
and Jean-Michel Saive of Belgium. Jörgen<br />
Persson had a fairly easy win over<br />
Kalinikos Kreanga (Greece) but Jan-Ove<br />
Waldner had a harder time in defeating<br />
Alexandar Karakasevic (Serbia) in<br />
six games. The other two were less fortunate;<br />
Zoran Primorac won only one<br />
game against Ma Lin (China) and Jean-<br />
Michel Saive succumbed in six games <strong>to</strong><br />
Lin Ju (Dominican Republic).<br />
Round three was not a good round for<br />
European players, with only five out of<br />
17 going forward <strong>to</strong> round four. In that<br />
round the European representation was<br />
further diminished. Vladimir Samsonov<br />
(Belarus) was narrowly beaten by Leung<br />
Chu Yan (Hong Kong), Jörgen Persson<br />
lost <strong>to</strong> Ko Lai Chak (Hong Kong) and,<br />
in one of the longest matches of the<br />
round, the all-European clash saw Werner<br />
Schlager (Austria) narrowly beaten<br />
by Timo Boll (Germany).<br />
The most memorable contest of the<br />
round was probably that between Jan-<br />
Ove Waldner and Ma Lin (China). Ma<br />
Lin had won all six of their most recent<br />
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Ryu Seung Min<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
encounters and many people expected<br />
that this would be the occasion for Jan-<br />
Ove Waldner, who had suffered several<br />
injuries in recent years, <strong>to</strong> make a graceful<br />
exit.<br />
Jan-Ove Waldner clearly did not share<br />
this view and, after defeating Ma Lin<br />
with the loss of only one game, he went<br />
on <strong>to</strong> achieve a similar result against<br />
Timo Boll <strong>to</strong> reach the semi-finals. The<br />
other successful quarter-finalists were<br />
Wang Liqin and Wang Hao of China and<br />
Ryu Seung Min of Korea, who defeated<br />
the Hong Kong player, Leung Chu Yan.<br />
In the semi-finals the two Chinese players<br />
met and vic<strong>to</strong>ry went <strong>to</strong> Wang Hao<br />
but it was the match between Jan-<br />
Ove Waldner and Ryu Seung Min that<br />
aroused greater interest.<br />
After his outstanding performance<br />
against Ma Lin and Timo Boll, Jan-Ove<br />
Waldner’s many supporters hoped that<br />
their hero would once again reach the<br />
final but, sadly, their expectations were<br />
not realised. Ryu Seung Min’s amazing<br />
speed proved <strong>to</strong>o much for him and he<br />
managed <strong>to</strong> win only one game, perhaps<br />
his only consolation being that he<br />
lost <strong>to</strong> the eventual winner.<br />
Ryu Seung Min easily won the first game<br />
of the final but Wang Hao just managed<br />
<strong>to</strong> take the second. When Ryu Seung<br />
Min won the next two and led by 8-4 in<br />
the fifth it seemed the match was over<br />
but Wang Hao fought back <strong>to</strong> 9-all and<br />
then <strong>to</strong>ok the next two points <strong>to</strong> reduce<br />
the deficit <strong>to</strong> one game.<br />
However, that was the end of the recovery<br />
and Ryu Seung Min won the next<br />
game <strong>to</strong> become the second Korean<br />
gold medal winner. In the play-off for<br />
the bronze medal Wang Liqin, who had<br />
been below his best in the semi-final,<br />
beat an obviously tired Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
in five games.<br />
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The Galatsi Stadium<br />
Most of the matches in the first two<br />
rounds of the women’s singles were<br />
more closely fought than those in the<br />
men’s event. In one of the longest Csilla<br />
Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi, the only woman <strong>to</strong> have played<br />
in all the previous Olympics, lost 10-12<br />
<strong>to</strong> Petra Cada (Canada) in the seventh<br />
game, after having held two match<br />
points.<br />
Round three followed a now familiar<br />
pattern, with all but three of the non-<br />
Asian players being eliminated and after<br />
the fourth round only Tamara Boros<br />
(Croatia) survived among the representatives<br />
of China, Hong Kong, Singapore<br />
and the two Koreas. One of the surprises<br />
of round four was the performance of<br />
Kim Hyang Mi (DPR Korea), who easily<br />
defeated the world no.3, Niu Jianfeng<br />
(China). Japan’s three players Ai Fukuhara,<br />
Ai Fujinuma and Aya Umemura were<br />
also beaten in this round, the first losing<br />
<strong>to</strong> Kim Kyung Ah (Korea) and the others<br />
<strong>to</strong> Singapore’s Zhang Yueling and Li<br />
Jiawei respectively.<br />
There was another shock in the quarterfinals<br />
when Li Jiawei beat the defending<br />
champion Wang Nan (China) fourone<br />
but the other remaining Chinese<br />
player, Zhang Yining, had little difficulty<br />
in defeating Tamara Boros. Kim Hyang<br />
Mi continued her successful run with a<br />
four-two win over Zhang Yueling while<br />
Kim Kyung Ah (Korea) qualified for the<br />
semi-finals at the expense of Tie Yana<br />
(Hong Kong).<br />
In the first semi-final Zhang Yining’s forehand<br />
proved <strong>to</strong>o strong for Kim Hyung<br />
Ah and she won fairly comfortably but<br />
the second was a struggle between Kim<br />
Hyang Mi and Li Jiawei which was decided<br />
in Kim Hyang Mi’s favour at 11-9<br />
in the seventh game. It was <strong>to</strong> be her last<br />
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Wang Nan and Zhang Yining (China)<br />
success and Zhang Yining was a convincing<br />
winner of the title, having lost only<br />
two games throughout the event. The<br />
bronze medal went <strong>to</strong> Kim Kyung Ah.<br />
The results in the first two rounds of the<br />
men’s doubles were generally in accordance<br />
with form but there were several<br />
unexpected outcomes in the third round.<br />
Lucjan Blaszczyk and Tomas Krzeszewski<br />
(Poland) played well <strong>to</strong> beat the strong<br />
Chinese Taipei pair Chiang Peng-Lung<br />
and Chuang Chih-Yuan, while Kong Linghui<br />
and Wang Hao (China) lost in five<br />
games <strong>to</strong> Jörgen Persson and Jan-Ove<br />
Waldner.<br />
Perhaps the most surprising winners<br />
were Michael Maze and Finn Tugwell of<br />
Denmark; their opponents, Karl Jindrak<br />
and Werner Schlager (Austria), had for<br />
several years been one of the best doubles<br />
pairs in the world but on this occasion<br />
they were overwhelmed four-nil.<br />
In the quarter-finals the Danes showed<br />
that this had not been just a lucky result,<br />
when Jörgen Persson and Jan-Ove Waldner<br />
could win only one game against<br />
them.<br />
The other three quarter-finals were decided<br />
by the same margin, Chen Qi and<br />
Ma Lin (China) beat Lucjan Blaszczyk<br />
and Tomasz Krzeszewski (Poland), Dmitrij<br />
Mazunov and Alexey Smirnov (Russia)<br />
overcame Lee Chul Seung and Ryu<br />
Seung Min (Korea) and Ko Lai Chak and<br />
Li Ching (Hong Kong) accounted for Slobodan<br />
Grujic and Aleksandar Karakasevic<br />
(Serbia).<br />
However reaching the semi-finals was<br />
the limit for the two European pairs;<br />
the final was between China and Hong<br />
Kong. Both pairs consisted of a righthanded<br />
and a left-handed player and<br />
both excelled in fast, attacking play but<br />
the Chinese showed the greater consistency.<br />
The match ended disappointingly for<br />
Hong Kong when in the sixth game of<br />
the final; Li Ching, trying <strong>to</strong> serve as<br />
short as possible, failed twice <strong>to</strong> clear the<br />
net. In the bronze medal match Michael<br />
Maze and Finn Tugwell had the satisfaction<br />
of defeating Dmitrij Mazunov and<br />
Alexey Smirnov <strong>to</strong> gain Denmark’s first<br />
Olympic medal.<br />
With most of the strong Asian pairs being<br />
given byes in the early rounds of the<br />
women’s doubles there was an opportunity<br />
for pairs from other continents <strong>to</strong><br />
reach the third round but few did.<br />
All three African entries and both Latin<br />
American pairs were beaten in round<br />
one and Oceania was unfortunate in<br />
having its two pairs drawn against each<br />
other. The match was won by sisters<br />
Karen Li and Li Chunli (New Zealand),<br />
who beat Australia’s Jian Fang Lay and<br />
Miao Miao four-two; they progressed<br />
<strong>to</strong> defeat Nicole Struse and Elke Wosik<br />
(Germany) in the following round. One<br />
of the two North America pairs, Tawny<br />
Banh and Gao Jun, also reached round<br />
two but then lost <strong>to</strong> the Koreans Kim<br />
Bok Rae and Kim Kyung Ah.<br />
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Zhang Yining the model of consistency<br />
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Zhang Yining acknowledges<br />
the crowd<br />
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Zhang Yining tastes success<br />
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The scene for the final<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>:Colin Clemett<br />
The Women’s Doubles Final – Wang Nan and Zhang Yining<br />
(China) versus Lee Eun Sil and Suk Eun Mi (Korea<br />
Almost the last hope for non-Asians vanished<br />
in round three. The New Zealanders<br />
were beaten by Kim Hyang Mi and<br />
Kim Hyon Hui (DPR Korea) and of the<br />
Europeans only Tamara Boros and Cornelia<br />
Vaida (Croatia) survived, albeit at<br />
the expense of another European pair,<br />
Csilla Ba<strong>to</strong>rfi and Krisztina Toth (Hungary).<br />
However, this was as far as they<br />
went and in the quarter-finals they were<br />
swept aside three-nil by Kim Bok Rae<br />
and Kim Kyung Ah (Korea).<br />
Guo Yue and Niu Jianfeng (China) had<br />
a little more difficulty against Ai Fujinuma<br />
and Aya Umemura (Japan), as did<br />
Wang Nan and Zhang Yining in beating<br />
Song Ah Sim and Tie Yana (Hong Kong),<br />
both matches ending at 11-8 in the fifth<br />
game. In the semi-finals Wang Nan and<br />
Zhang Yining beat their compatriots,<br />
owing largely <strong>to</strong> Wang Nan’s return <strong>to</strong><br />
form after her disappointing performance<br />
in the singles. In the other, all-<br />
Korean, semi-final, Lee Eun Sil and Suk<br />
Eun Mi showed how <strong>to</strong> deal with defensive<br />
players, recording a convincing win<br />
over Kim Bok Rae and Kim Kyung Ah.<br />
The final was a rather one-sided match,<br />
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with the Koreans never really coming <strong>to</strong><br />
terms with the Chinese pair’s fierce <strong>to</strong>pspin<br />
attack and failing <strong>to</strong> win a game.<br />
However, the bronze medal match was<br />
much closer but here again the Chinese<br />
pairing of Guo Yue and Niu Jianfeng<br />
prevailed, thus preserving China’s remarkable<br />
record in the Olympic women’s<br />
doubles.<br />
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Since table tennis was first played in the<br />
Olympics, they had lost only one match<br />
<strong>to</strong> a non-Chinese pair and that was in<br />
the 1988 final. If their pairs in this event<br />
had not been deliberately drawn in<strong>to</strong><br />
the same half they might well have won<br />
both the gold and silver medals.<br />
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OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
BEIJING 2008<br />
Beijing, Monday 13th – Thursday 23rd August 2008<br />
The table tennis competition was held in the Gymnasium<br />
of the Peking University and, as in Athens, the building<br />
had been designed specifically <strong>to</strong> meet the requirements of<br />
table tennis. It was situated in the south-east quarter of the<br />
University campus, about eight kilometres from the Olympic<br />
village and within easy travelling distance of the city centre.<br />
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The table tennis competition was held in<br />
the Gymnasium of the Peking University<br />
and, as in Athens, the building had<br />
been designed specifically <strong>to</strong> meet the<br />
requirements of table tennis. It was<br />
situated in the south-east quarter of<br />
the University campus, about eight<br />
kilometres from the Olympic village and<br />
within easy travelling distance of the<br />
city centre.<br />
Situated on the first floor, the playing<br />
area was almost 2,000 square metres<br />
and provided room for eight tables with<br />
seating for up <strong>to</strong> 8,000 specta<strong>to</strong>rs. The<br />
air-conditioning system operated at a<br />
very low flow-rate so as not <strong>to</strong> produce<br />
draughts which might affect the flight<br />
of the ball; also, it was supplemented<br />
by air-replacement vents under the<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>r seats.<br />
Other refinements included a doublelayer<br />
roof which provided heat<br />
insulation and eliminated noise from<br />
rainfall; in addition the walls were<br />
sound-absorbing.<br />
The 2004 Games had seen the first<br />
major change in the competition format<br />
since 1988, with the <strong>to</strong>tal elimination<br />
of qualifying rounds for the individual<br />
events, the 2008 Games were <strong>to</strong> see the<br />
second. The change was the replacement<br />
of the men’s and women’s doubles<br />
events by team competitions, which the<br />
International Table Tennis Federation<br />
had first requested in 1995.<br />
The agreement from the International<br />
Olympic Committee was subject <strong>to</strong> there<br />
being no increase in the <strong>to</strong>tal number<br />
of players and it was agreed <strong>to</strong> limit the<br />
number of teams <strong>to</strong> 16 for each event,<br />
with a team comprising three players.<br />
Each team match consisted of two<br />
singles followed by a doubles and then<br />
one or two more singles, until one team<br />
had won three individual matches. The<br />
doubles pairing and the players in the<br />
final two singles were chosen so that<br />
no player <strong>to</strong>ok part in more than two<br />
individual matches, <strong>to</strong> avoid the outcome<br />
being determined by one strong player.<br />
Teams competed in four groups of four,<br />
with the group winners playing semi-<br />
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Peking University<br />
finals and a final <strong>to</strong> determine the gold<br />
and silver medal winners. The losing<br />
semi-finalists and the second placed<br />
teams from the groups then competed<br />
in a knock-out for the bronze medal.<br />
As might have been expected, the results<br />
of the groups were strongly reminiscent<br />
of those previously seen in individual<br />
events, with every group dominated by<br />
one team. In the men’s event, both China<br />
and Japan won their groups without<br />
conceding an individual match; of the<br />
other group winners, Germany lost<br />
only one and Korea two. There were,<br />
however, some very close individual<br />
matches, notably that between Wang<br />
Liqin (China) and William Henzell<br />
(Australia).<br />
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Chinese fans<br />
China’s Women’s Team: Zhang<br />
Yining, Guo Yue, Wang Nan<br />
Guo Yue (China)<br />
Ma Lin, the moment of vic<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
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Peking University Gymnasium<br />
Swedish fans<br />
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Wang Hao (China)<br />
game of the doubles, it looked as though<br />
the German team was comfortably on its<br />
way <strong>to</strong> the final. However, the Japanese<br />
pair staged a come-back <strong>to</strong> win that<br />
match and in the following singles Kan<br />
Yo recovered from a two games <strong>to</strong> nil<br />
deficit <strong>to</strong> beat Christian Süss, leaving the<br />
outcome <strong>to</strong> be decided by the match<br />
between Timo Boll and Seiya Kishikawa.<br />
This match also lasted the full five<br />
games, with Timo Boll the winner.<br />
William Henzell won the first game and<br />
led 11-10 in the second, when Wang<br />
Liqin just managed <strong>to</strong> save the next point<br />
with a lucky mis-hit return. He went on<br />
<strong>to</strong> win that game and the match.<br />
The Chinese men’s team maintained<br />
its record throughout the competition,<br />
although in the semi-final Oh Sang Eun<br />
(Korea) nearly spoiled it. He led Ma Lin<br />
two-one and was level at 10-all in the<br />
fourth game before Ma Lin managed <strong>to</strong><br />
regain control.<br />
In the other semi-final Germany went<br />
two-nil ahead against Japan with singles<br />
vic<strong>to</strong>ries from Dimitrij Ovtcharov and<br />
Timo Boll and, when Dimitrij Ovtcharov<br />
and his partner Christian Süss, beat Seiya<br />
Kishikawa and Jun Mizutani in the first<br />
The final was more predictable and<br />
though the Germans played well there<br />
was little doubt that China would<br />
be champions. In the play-off for the<br />
bronze medal Korea, one of the losing<br />
semi-finalists in the gold medal knockout,<br />
beat Hong Kong and then Austria,<br />
both three-one.<br />
In the women’s team event China, Hong<br />
Kong, Korea and Singapore all won<br />
their matches three-nil and the semifinals<br />
bore some similarity <strong>to</strong> those in<br />
the men’s competition. In the first China<br />
had little difficulty in beating Hong<br />
Kong three-nil; in the other, individual<br />
matches were won in turn by Korea<br />
and Singapore, before Feng Tianwei<br />
(Singapore) beat Park Mi Young (Korea)<br />
<strong>to</strong> secure her team’s place in the final by<br />
three matches <strong>to</strong> two.<br />
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Wang Liqin (China)<br />
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Zhang Yining (China)<br />
(Belgium), Zoran Primorac (Croatia) and<br />
Jörgen Persson (Sweden).<br />
Jean-Michel Saive was beaten in his first<br />
match, losing <strong>to</strong> Segun Toriola (Nigeria)<br />
but both Zoran Primorac and Jörgen<br />
Persson went on <strong>to</strong> reach the quarterfinals.<br />
William Henzell (Australia) continued <strong>to</strong><br />
show the form he had displayed in the<br />
team event by beating Jens Lundqvist<br />
(Sweden) in the first round, before<br />
losing narrowly in the next <strong>to</strong> Yoon Jae<br />
Young (Korea). Meanwhile, of the three<br />
French players in the first round only<br />
Damien Eloi was successful but in the<br />
second round he, <strong>to</strong>o, was eliminated<br />
in a seven games match by Jun Mizutani<br />
(Japan).<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
At the final stage, they faced the<br />
formidable Chinese trio of Wang Nan,<br />
Zhang Yining and Guo Yue, who duly<br />
secured the title that they had been<br />
expected <strong>to</strong> win. Meanwhile, as in the<br />
men’s event, it was one of the losing<br />
semi-finalists from the gold medal<br />
knock-out who won the bronze medal,<br />
when Korea beat successively the United<br />
States and Japan.<br />
The Polish women’s team included 19<br />
year-old Natalia Partyka, who was born<br />
without a right hand and forearm. In<br />
spite of this disability she has reached<br />
international level and this year became<br />
the first table tennis player <strong>to</strong> qualify in<br />
the same year for both the Olympic and<br />
the Paralympic Games.<br />
The men’s singles included three players<br />
who were taking part in their sixth<br />
Olympic Games: Jean-Michel Saive<br />
The third round saw the first appearance<br />
of the strongest seeded players. The<br />
three Chinese players Wang Hao, Wang<br />
Liqin and Ma Lin all had easy vic<strong>to</strong>ries,<br />
only Ma Lin conceding a game, but the<br />
2004 Olympic champion, Ryu Seung Min<br />
(Korea), was surprisingly beaten by Ko<br />
Lai Chak (Hong Kong).<br />
After their successes in the team<br />
competition the German players were<br />
hopeful of further good results in the<br />
singles but in the third round Christian<br />
Süss lost <strong>to</strong> Vladimir Samsonov (Belarus).<br />
However, both Dimitrij Ovtcharov and<br />
Timo Boll of Germany secured their<br />
places in the last 16 but failed <strong>to</strong> reach<br />
the quarter-finals, losing <strong>to</strong> Oh Sang Eun<br />
(Korea) and Ko Lai Chak (Hong Kong)<br />
respectively.<br />
Zoran Primorac and Jörgen Persson<br />
fought their way through long matches<br />
in the third and fourth rounds <strong>to</strong><br />
qualify for places in the quarter-finals,<br />
with Jörgen Persson’s vic<strong>to</strong>ry over<br />
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Chen Weixing celebrates after, in partnership with Robert Gardos,<br />
beating Jun Mizutani and Seiya Kishikawa in the semi-final bronze<br />
medal contest between Austria and Japan.<br />
Vladimir Samsonov being especially<br />
hard won. That match included one of<br />
the few controversial incidents of the<br />
competition.<br />
There was doubt whether the ball<br />
returned by Vladimir Samsonov had hit<br />
the side of the table or the <strong>to</strong>p edge;<br />
furthermore, the video replay was<br />
inconclusive. Vladimir Samsonov offered<br />
<strong>to</strong> concede the point <strong>to</strong> Jörgen Persson<br />
but he was reluctant <strong>to</strong> accept it and<br />
suggested instead that the rally be replayed<br />
and although this was not strictly<br />
in accordance with the Laws it was<br />
agreed <strong>to</strong> be the simplest solution.<br />
In the next round Jörgen Persson had<br />
<strong>to</strong> play Zoran Primorac and here Jörgen<br />
Persson showed that at the age of 42<br />
he still had the skill and stamina <strong>to</strong><br />
compete at this level, winning fourone.<br />
In the semi-final, however, he was<br />
unable <strong>to</strong> contain Wang Hao, while in<br />
the other semi-final Ma Lin overcame<br />
Vladimir Samsonov and Jörgen<br />
Persson find a solution; they<br />
agree <strong>to</strong> replay the point<br />
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Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young celebrate after securing the<br />
bronze medal for Korea in the women’s team event<br />
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Wang Hao (China) versus Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Germany)<br />
Zhang Yining en route <strong>to</strong> vic<strong>to</strong>ry over Li Jiawei<br />
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In the longest match of round two,<br />
Georgina Pota (Hungary) beat Dana<br />
Hadacova (Czech Republic) four-three,<br />
after winning both of the last two games<br />
12-10. However, these were <strong>to</strong> be the<br />
last successes for all three, when they<br />
came up against some of the stronger<br />
seeded players in the round of 32.<br />
Every match in this round was won by a<br />
player of Asian origin, albeit that some<br />
were now representing other National<br />
Olympic Committees. Among these were<br />
Gao Jun and Wang Chen, both of them<br />
formerly World Championships title<br />
holders for China but now representing<br />
the United States.<br />
Jörgen Persson (Sweden)<br />
the challenge of Wang Liqin, <strong>to</strong> ensure<br />
another all-Chinese final.<br />
Here Ma Lin added an individual gold<br />
medal <strong>to</strong> the ones he had already won<br />
in the 2008 team competition and the<br />
2004 men’s doubles. In the play-off for<br />
the bronze medal Jörgen Persson was<br />
unable <strong>to</strong> maintain the form he had<br />
showed previously, losing in straight<br />
games <strong>to</strong> Wang Liqin. However, it had<br />
been a remarkable performance from<br />
a player who was eligible for veteran<br />
events.<br />
In the women’s singles, the only first<br />
round winners <strong>to</strong> progress beyond<br />
the second round were Kim Jong (DPR<br />
Korea) and Hu Melek (Turkey). After<br />
initial vic<strong>to</strong>ries over Fabiola Ramos<br />
(Venezuela) and Pan Li-Chun (Chinese<br />
Taipei) respectively, they both beat<br />
seeded players in the next round, Kim<br />
Jong winning four-one against Daniela<br />
Dodean (Romania) and Hu Melek<br />
eliminating Elke Schall (Germany).<br />
Having beaten Eva Odorova (Slovakia)<br />
and Sayaka Hirano (Japan), Gao Jun<br />
lost in round four <strong>to</strong> another Chinese<br />
expatriate, Wu Xue, now of the<br />
Dominican Republic. Wang Chen,<br />
however, beat Kim Kyung Ah (Korea)<br />
The moment of vic<strong>to</strong>ry Zhang<br />
Yining beats Wang Nan<br />
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Natalia Partyka (Poland)<br />
four-three <strong>to</strong> reach the quarter-finals<br />
but there she was eliminated by Li Jiawei<br />
(Singapore).<br />
Li Jiawei’s winning run came <strong>to</strong> an end<br />
in the first semi-final, where she put<br />
up a strong fight before losing <strong>to</strong> the<br />
eventual winner, Zhang Yining. In the<br />
second, Wang Nan defeated Guo Yue<br />
four-two <strong>to</strong> set up a final between the<br />
champions from the 2000 and 2004<br />
Games, holders between them of no<br />
fewer than seven Olympic gold medals.<br />
Wang Nan started well and won the<br />
first game but lost the second at 11-<br />
13. From then on it was Zhang Yining<br />
who dictated the progress of the match,<br />
winning her fourth gold medal <strong>to</strong><br />
equal the record of the legendary Deng<br />
Yaping. The bronze medal was won by<br />
Guo Yue so that, as in Athens, Li Jiawei<br />
ended the competition in a creditable<br />
fourth place.<br />
Thus the Chinese women had emulated<br />
the achievement of their male compatriots<br />
by winning all three medals and,<br />
with the successes in the two team<br />
events, it meant that at the 2008 Olympics,<br />
Chinese players had won every<br />
medal that was available <strong>to</strong> them. For<br />
some of them this may have marked the<br />
end of their international career but it<br />
seems that as one generation of Chinese<br />
players retires they are replaced by others<br />
of equal ability.<br />
In previous Olympics, table tennis had<br />
consistently attracted a high level of<br />
specta<strong>to</strong>r attendance throughout the<br />
competition and it was <strong>to</strong> be expected<br />
that this would be the case in a country<br />
where the sport is so highly regarded<br />
and its players so successful.<br />
However, a more significant indica<strong>to</strong>r of<br />
the widening popularity of table tennis<br />
as a specta<strong>to</strong>r sport was the result of<br />
the post-Olympic survey carried out on<br />
the extent of television coverage in 48<br />
terri<strong>to</strong>ries, which showed that it was<br />
ranked fifth of the 28 sports making up<br />
the 2008 Olympics programme.<br />
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YOUT H OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
OLYMPIC GAMES<br />
SINGAPORE 2010<br />
Singapore, Saturday 21st August - Thursday 26th August<br />
The Singapore Indoor Stadium was the venue for the table<br />
tennis events at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, the<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnament commencing on Saturday 21st August and concludingon<br />
Thursday 26th August.<br />
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Olga Bliznet (Moldova)<br />
The Singapore Indoor Stadium was the<br />
venue for the table tennis events at the<br />
inaugural Youth Olympic Games, the<br />
<strong>to</strong>urnament commencing on Saturday<br />
21st August and concluding on Thursday<br />
26th August.<br />
Opened in 1989, the building proved an<br />
ideal venue, with table tennis following<br />
the badmin<strong>to</strong>n competition; a multipurpose<br />
building, the premises had previously<br />
hosted several sporting events in<br />
addition <strong>to</strong> concerts featuring the Rolling<br />
S<strong>to</strong>nes, Robbie Williams, Tina Turner,<br />
Sarah Brightman and Luciano Pavarotti.<br />
Eight tables were used for the <strong>to</strong>urnament<br />
with a further six <strong>to</strong> eight in a<br />
nearby hall being accessible for practice.<br />
A <strong>to</strong>tal of 32 places were available for<br />
boys and the same number for girls,<br />
Clarence Chew (Singapore)<br />
with three events being held: Boys’ Singles,<br />
Girls’ Singles and Team.<br />
Each National Olympic Committee was<br />
limited <strong>to</strong> a maximum of one boy and<br />
one girl representative born between<br />
Saturday 1st January 1994 and Sunday<br />
31st December 1995, with the team<br />
event being a mixed competition. Each<br />
team comprised one boy and one girl,<br />
who had qualified for the singles. In instances<br />
where a National Olympic Committee<br />
only had either only one boy or<br />
only one girl qualified, continental and<br />
intercontinental teams were formed.<br />
The fact that young people from different<br />
ethnic and cultural backgrounds<br />
joined forces, very much endorsed a<br />
theme of the Youth Olympic Games, one<br />
of promoting understanding and co-operation<br />
between nations.<br />
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Qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games<br />
was a different procedure than had been<br />
adopted for any of the preceding Olympic<br />
Games. In each of the singles events<br />
27 places were obtainable by qualification,<br />
four were named National Olympic<br />
Universality places and one was reserved<br />
for the hosts.<br />
Following the policy throughout of a<br />
maximum of one boy and one girl from<br />
a National Olympic Committee, the ITTF<br />
Cadet Challenge staged in Tokyo in Oc<strong>to</strong>ber<br />
2009 was the starting point for<br />
qualification: the <strong>to</strong>p four players in<br />
each of the singles events gaining the<br />
first places on offer. Four players qualified,<br />
the following step was by ranking.<br />
The highest four named boys and girls<br />
on the Under 15 World Ranking list on<br />
Thursday 31st December 2009, who had<br />
not qualified via the ITTF Cadet Challenge<br />
in Tokyo, gained the next places<br />
available.<br />
Continental <strong>to</strong>urnaments, held between<br />
Sunday 1st November 2009 and Monday<br />
31st May 2010, provided the next 14<br />
places in each of the singles events. Europe<br />
and Asia both received four places,<br />
North America and Latin America joined<br />
forces <strong>to</strong> make three places available for<br />
Pan America; Africa was awarded two<br />
places with one being allocated <strong>to</strong> Oceania.<br />
A further five places for boys and the<br />
same number for girls were awarded<br />
<strong>to</strong> the winner or the first eligible player<br />
in the singles events at five ITTF Junior<br />
Circuit <strong>to</strong>urnaments staged between<br />
Friday 1st January and Thursday 10th<br />
June 2010. The <strong>to</strong>urnaments, decided by<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
An enthusiastic crowd<br />
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In addition <strong>to</strong> the qualification process<br />
for players, there was a similar procedure<br />
for umpires, with the ITTF Young<br />
Umpires Project being introduced. The<br />
Games focused on youth; therefore it<br />
was logical that when selecting officials,<br />
young officials should be considered.<br />
Targeting umpires under 30 years of age<br />
was the policy and when applications<br />
closed on Sunday 10th January 2010, the<br />
response was quite staggering. No less<br />
than 184 applications from 54 countries<br />
had been received; a <strong>to</strong>tal of 23 names<br />
was short listed <strong>to</strong> follow an on-line<br />
course in cyberspace organised by the<br />
University of Catalonia.<br />
Simon Gauzy (France)<br />
the ITTF Junior Commission, were those<br />
staged in Bahrain, Egypt, Italy, New Zealand<br />
and Venezuela; thus all five continents<br />
were covered.<br />
The places by qualification complete;<br />
the four Universality places in each<br />
event were determined by the ITTF Junior<br />
Commission A full quota of entries<br />
was the end result in the boys’ singles<br />
but as a result of Singapore’s Isabelle Siyun<br />
Li qualifying by virtue of her world<br />
ranking on Thursday 31st December<br />
2009, there was one unused place in the<br />
girls’ event.<br />
The place was awarded <strong>to</strong> Portugal’s<br />
Maria Xiao being the next named eligible<br />
player on the world rankings in<br />
question.<br />
Tamas Laka<strong>to</strong>s (Hungary)<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Gu Yuting (China)<br />
Eventually nine young umpires were selected<br />
as part of a 36 strong team with<br />
18 of the <strong>to</strong>tal being from Singapore, Interest<br />
in officiating was high, competing<br />
was a unique opportunity and following<br />
the success gained by Singapore earlier<br />
in the year, when sensationally beating<br />
China in the final of the women’s event<br />
at the Liebherr World Team Championships<br />
in Moscow; interest in table tennis<br />
was high.<br />
Even before the competition had started<br />
table tennis was recognised. On Friday<br />
13th August, six Singapore Youth Olympic<br />
Games Scholarships were announced;<br />
no less than three went <strong>to</strong> table tennis;<br />
the awards being presented <strong>to</strong> Malaysia’s<br />
Angeline Tang An Qi, Peru’s Janina<br />
Nie<strong>to</strong> and Singapore’s An Wang Qi. The<br />
other three recipients were swimmers<br />
Botswana’s Beryl Ebineng Seabe and<br />
Thailand’s Phiangkhwan Pawapotako,<br />
with Guyana’s track and field athlete,<br />
Jevina Raydon completing the line-up.<br />
Awards presented, officials names and<br />
players decided; proceedings commenced<br />
with a very comprehensive<br />
practice schedule. Training facilities<br />
were organised in Hall Five of the National<br />
University of Singapore. Practice<br />
facilities were available from Tuesday<br />
10th August with an ITTF Youth Olympic<br />
Games Training Camp being held from<br />
Sunday 15th August <strong>to</strong> Tuesday 16th August,<br />
an event which proved a most successful<br />
venture.<br />
Present was Jean-Philippe Gatien, the<br />
winner of the Men’s Singles title at the<br />
1993 World Championships and in 2000<br />
in Sydney, a Men’s Doubles bronze medallist<br />
with French compatriot, Patrick<br />
Chila. He was present in the capacity<br />
of role model, a feature of the Youth<br />
Olympic Games; each sport was required<br />
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<strong>to</strong> nominate an athlete who exemplified<br />
Olympic values both on and off the field<br />
of play.<br />
In addition <strong>to</strong> advising within their own<br />
sport, the role model was required <strong>to</strong><br />
take part in a range of educational activities<br />
organised at the Youth Olympic<br />
Games. Jean-Philippe Gatien proved the<br />
perfect choice and certainly his attendance<br />
at the ITTF Youth Olympic Games<br />
Training Camp was well received by<br />
players and coaches alike.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
The specially organised training camp<br />
over, it was final preparation time for<br />
the players; further opportunities for<br />
pre-<strong>to</strong>urnament practice were available<br />
in Hall Five of the National University of<br />
Singapore on Thursday 19th and Friday<br />
20th August, immediately prior <strong>to</strong> the<br />
start of competition.<br />
Adem Hmam (Tunisia)<br />
Play began with the singles events, the<br />
event being organised in a series of<br />
stages: matches in the first two stages<br />
being best of five games, in the third<br />
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Adem Hmam and Gu Yuting (Tunisia / China) versus Emilien<br />
Vanrossomme and Maria Xiao (Belgium / Portugal)<br />
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Konrad Kulpa (Poland) versus Clarence Chew (Singapore)<br />
stage best of seven games. In both the<br />
Boys’ Singles and Girls’ Singles events,<br />
the players were initially draw in<strong>to</strong> eight<br />
groups, each group comprising four<br />
players; the players finishing in first and<br />
second places in each group progressed<br />
<strong>to</strong> compete from places 1 <strong>to</strong> 16, those<br />
in third and fourth place, for positions<br />
17 <strong>to</strong> 32.<br />
In the second stage of proceedings the<br />
<strong>to</strong>p 16 players were drawn in<strong>to</strong> four<br />
groups with four players in each group,<br />
as were those competing for the lower<br />
places. Two group stages completed<br />
the knock-out principle was followed in<br />
stage three; the players finishing in first<br />
and second places in the four groups<br />
which involved the <strong>to</strong>p 16 players, progressed<br />
<strong>to</strong> compete for the medals with<br />
a bronze medal match being held between<br />
the two losing semi-finalists.<br />
in August 2010 but immediately there<br />
were two casualties. China’s Yin Hang,<br />
the <strong>to</strong>p seed in the Boys’ Singles, withdrew<br />
shortly before the <strong>to</strong>urnament<br />
was due <strong>to</strong> start owing <strong>to</strong> injury and was<br />
replaced by Tunisia’s Adem Hmam. Similarly,<br />
Germany’s Petrissa Solja, the no.3<br />
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The remaining places were determined<br />
on the same principle. Seeding was according<br />
<strong>to</strong> the world ranking list in place<br />
Hung Tzu-Hsiang (Chinese Taipei)<br />
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seed in the Girls’ Singles event had <strong>to</strong><br />
withdraw through illness on the opening<br />
day.<br />
Koki Niwa (Japan), Hung Tzu-Hsiang<br />
(Chinese Taipei), Simon Gauzy (France)<br />
and Hampus Soderlund (Sweden), the<br />
respective <strong>to</strong>p four seeds all progressed<br />
safely <strong>to</strong> the quarter-final stage, as did<br />
Chiu Chung-Hei (Hong Kong), the no.5<br />
seed and Tamas Laka<strong>to</strong>s (Hungary), the<br />
no.8 seed. However, there were two<br />
surprise appearances in the round of<br />
the last eight. Emilien Vanrossomme<br />
(Belgium), the no.9 seed and Ojo Onaolapo<br />
(Nigeria), the no.11 seed, both<br />
progressed <strong>to</strong> the quarter-finals.<br />
Relatively comfortable successes and in<br />
the matches <strong>to</strong> determine the medals,<br />
none went the full distance; Koki Niwa<br />
beat Hung Tzu-Hsiang in six games <strong>to</strong><br />
secure gold; whilst in one game less, Simon<br />
Gauzy defeated Tamas Laka<strong>to</strong>s <strong>to</strong><br />
clinch bronze.<br />
Similarly in the Girls’ Singles event the<br />
<strong>to</strong>p four seeds all reached the quarterfinal<br />
stage but their progress was not<br />
as straightforward as the boys. Yang Ha<br />
Eun (Korea), the no.2 seed and Suthasini<br />
Sawettabut (Thailand), who became the<br />
no.3 seed following the withdrawal of<br />
Petrissa Solja, advanced <strong>to</strong> the round of<br />
the last eight without a single defeat.<br />
Notably, in the first stage of proceedings<br />
Ojo Onaolapo had beaten Kim Dong<br />
Hyun (Korea), the no.6 seed and Emilien<br />
Vanrossomme had overcome Leonardo<br />
Mutti (Italy), the no.7 seed.<br />
A place in the last eight but for the<br />
two interlopers there was no further<br />
progress. Emilien Vanrossomme lost <strong>to</strong><br />
Simon Gauzy with Ojo Onaolapo experiencing<br />
defeat at the hands of Koki<br />
Niwa, the champion elect. Defeat for<br />
the Nigerian but he had been one of the<br />
players <strong>to</strong> attract attention; at the ITTF<br />
Youth Olympic Games Training Camp<br />
he had been <strong>to</strong>tally committed, whilst<br />
against Koki Niwa, he won the first two<br />
games before narrowly losing the next<br />
four.<br />
In the two remaining quarter-final duels<br />
Tamas Laka<strong>to</strong>s defeated Hampus<br />
Soderlund in six games, whilst in a full<br />
distance seven games duel, Hung Tzu-<br />
Hsiang overcame Chiu Chung Hei. Places<br />
in the semi-finals reserved, Koki Niwa recorded<br />
a straight games win over Simon<br />
Gauzy as did Hung Tzu-Hsiang in opposition<br />
<strong>to</strong> Tamas Laka<strong>to</strong>s.<br />
However, for Gu Yuting (China), the<br />
no.1 seed and for Bernadette Szocs (Romania),<br />
the no.4 seed, both suffered<br />
defeats in the opening stage before<br />
progressing unhindered. Gu Yuting was<br />
beaten by Kim Song I (DPR Korea), the<br />
no.14 seed, who duly progressed <strong>to</strong> the<br />
quarter finals; whilst Bernadette Szocs<br />
suffered defeat at the hands of Britt Eer-<br />
Isabelle Siyun Li (Singapore)<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Isabelle Siyun Li (Singapore) versus Olga Bliznet (Moldova)<br />
land of the Netherlands, the no.11 seed.<br />
Equally, Isabelle Siyun Li (Singapore),<br />
the no.6 seed, on her route <strong>to</strong> the quarter-finals<br />
had experienced problems in<br />
the first stage of affairs; she had lost <strong>to</strong><br />
Ayuka Tanioka (Japan), the no.9 seed,<br />
the Japanese teenager maintaining her<br />
form <strong>to</strong> reach stage three.<br />
A place in the quarter-final for Ayuka<br />
Tanioka was a minor surprise; the appearance<br />
of Olga Bliznet (Moldova) in<br />
the round of the last eight was a greater<br />
surprise. She was the no.16 seed and her<br />
quarter-final appearance meant that<br />
four of the eight girls’ singles quarterfinalists<br />
were defensive players; an unusual<br />
situation in the modern era. In addition<br />
<strong>to</strong> Olga Bliznet, Kim Song I, Isabelle<br />
Li and Ayuka Tanioka are also defenders.<br />
Four backspin artistes in the round of the<br />
last eight but only one was <strong>to</strong> survive;<br />
urged on by a passionate local crowd,<br />
Isabelle Siyun Li recorded a five games<br />
win over Bernadette Szocs, for the other<br />
three it was defeat.<br />
Aykua Tanioka was beaten in four<br />
straight games by Suthasini Sawettabut,<br />
Gu Yuting gained revenge over Kim<br />
Song I for her first stage defeat but only<br />
just; she needed the full seven games <strong>to</strong><br />
secure vic<strong>to</strong>ry, whilst more convincingly,<br />
in four straight games, Yang Ha Eun defeated<br />
Olga Bliznet.<br />
In form and relishing the fact she was<br />
playing on home soil, Isabelle Siyun Li<br />
maintained her momentum at the semifinal<br />
stage. She beat Suthasini Sawettabut<br />
in four straight games <strong>to</strong> book<br />
her place in the final, where she faced<br />
Gu Yuting; the Chinese teenager having<br />
overcome Yang Ha Eun in five games in<br />
her penultimate round encounter.<br />
Now fully recovered from her opening<br />
stage defeat against Kim Song I, Gu Yuting<br />
was not <strong>to</strong> be denied. She beat Isabelle<br />
Siyun Li in four straight games <strong>to</strong><br />
secure the gold medal. Success for Gu<br />
Yuting and in the bronze medal match<br />
it was success for Yang Ha Eun, she accounted<br />
for Suthasini Sawettabut in five<br />
game <strong>to</strong> clinch third place.<br />
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Ojo Onaolapo (Nigeria)<br />
Junior Boys’ Singles Podium:<br />
Hung Tzu-Hsiang (Chinese<br />
Taipei), Koki Niwa (Japan),<br />
Simon Gauzy (France)<br />
The singles events over, focus turned <strong>to</strong><br />
the Team event. Each fixture consisted of<br />
three matches; the girls confronted each<br />
other followed by the boys and a mixed<br />
doubles <strong>to</strong> end proceedings. Similar <strong>to</strong><br />
the singles, in the first instance matters<br />
were organised on a group basis.<br />
Eight groups in the first stage, the teams<br />
who finished in first and second places<br />
in each group progressed <strong>to</strong> the main<br />
draw, the teams finishing in third and<br />
fourth places continued <strong>to</strong> compete for<br />
the lower places. In the second stage of<br />
proceedings, the teams competing for<br />
the lower places saw matters conclude<br />
in the quarter-finals. The four successful<br />
teams were placed 17th equal, the beaten<br />
quarter-finalists were placed 21st<br />
equal, with the first round losers sharing<br />
25th place.<br />
In the contest for the higher places, the<br />
only play-off match was for the bronze<br />
medal; the losing quarter-finalists shared<br />
fifth place, those beaten in the opening<br />
round were named joint ninth.<br />
Several days prior the start of proceedings<br />
the teams had been decided but the<br />
withdrawal of Yin Hang and Petrissa Solja<br />
did present a problem; the end result<br />
was that there was no German team,<br />
thus 31 teams actually participated but<br />
a solution for Gu Yuting, the intended<br />
partner of Yin Hang, was found.<br />
All parties concerned agreed she could<br />
partner Adem Hmam (Tunisia); named<br />
Intercontinental I, they concluded proceedings<br />
with bronze medals <strong>to</strong> their<br />
credit. They reached the semi-final stage<br />
by winning every match two-one with<br />
Gu Yuting remaining unbeaten and<br />
partnering Adem Hmam <strong>to</strong> doubles success<br />
on each occasion. Similarly, at the<br />
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Suthasini Sawettabut<br />
(Thailand)<br />
Bernadette Szocs<br />
(Romania)<br />
Ayuka Tanioka (Japan)<br />
Hmam in opposition <strong>to</strong> Koki Niwa and a<br />
doubles reverse, meant that a bronze<br />
medal contest against DPR Korea ensued.<br />
The duo emerged successful following<br />
the same winning pattern as before;<br />
Gu Yuting overcame Kim Song I in<br />
three straight games, the player against<br />
whom she had experienced defeat on<br />
the opening day, Adem Hmam lost <strong>to</strong><br />
Kim Hwang Song by the minimal two<br />
point margin in the fifth game but then<br />
joined forces with Gu Yuting <strong>to</strong> secure<br />
the doubles in four games.<br />
Gold and bronze was thus the eventual<br />
medal haul for Gu Yuting; as for Koki<br />
Niwa it was gold and more gold.<br />
Partnering Ayuka Tanioka he reached<br />
the quarter-finals without the loss of<br />
a single match but in the round of the<br />
last eight, life became more exacting.<br />
Against the host association, Ayuka<br />
Tanioka lost <strong>to</strong> Isabelle Siyun Li in the<br />
opening contest, Koki Niwa levelled by<br />
beating Clarence Chew in four games<br />
before the Japanese duo clinched vic<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
in thrilling full distance five games<br />
double duel.<br />
Vic<strong>to</strong>ry over Adem Hmam and Gu Yuting<br />
duly booked a place in the final,<br />
where they met the Korean partnership<br />
of Kim Dong Hyun and Yang Ha Eun. En<br />
route <strong>to</strong> the final the Koreans had never<br />
been in serious danger. First place in<br />
their group without the loss of a single<br />
individual match, they maintained that<br />
form in the second stage of proceedings.<br />
Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
semi-final stage, Gu Yuting was unbeaten;<br />
she accounted for Ayuka Tanioka<br />
in three straight games in the contest<br />
against Japan but defeat for Adem<br />
They reached the final, posting twonil<br />
wins in every round; notably in the<br />
quarter-finals beating Tanapol Santiwattanatarm<br />
and Suthasini Sawttabut<br />
of Thailand before overcoming DPR Ko-<br />
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Yang Ha Eun (Korea)<br />
Koki Niwa (Japan)<br />
rea’s Kim Kwang Song and Kim Song I <strong>to</strong><br />
reach the final.<br />
In the final it was a much different s<strong>to</strong>ry;<br />
every match went the full five games<br />
distance. Korea made the better start.<br />
Yang Ha Eun beat Ayuka Tanioka but<br />
then Japan levelled with Koki Niwa<br />
overcoming Kim Dong Hyun, before a<br />
doubles success by the minimum two<br />
point margin in the fifth game, secured<br />
a Japanese vic<strong>to</strong>ry.<br />
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It was the <strong>to</strong>p step of the podium for<br />
Koki Niwa and Ayuka Tanioka, it was<br />
gold for Japan and for all the players<br />
concerned a memorable experience;<br />
once in a lifetime.<br />
Girls Singles Podium<br />
Isabelle Siyun Li, Gu Yuting,<br />
Yang Ha Eun<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
The Youth Olympic Games<br />
Players and coaches at the training camp<br />
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Table Tennis in the Olympic Games<br />
Africa 1: ONAOLAPO Ojo, LAID Islem<br />
Africa 2: LI KAM WA Warren, MAFUTA IVOSO Jolie<br />
Brazil: JOUTI Eric, KUMAHARA Caroline Chinese<br />
Taipei: HUNG Tzu-Hsiang, HUANG Hsin<br />
Croatia: FUCEC Luka, JEGER Mateja<br />
DPR Korea: KIM Kwang Song, KIM Song I<br />
Egypt: BEDAIR Omar, MESHREF Dina<br />
Europe 1: SODERLUND Hampus, SZOCS Bernadette<br />
Europe 2: VANROSSOMME Emilien, XIAO Maria<br />
Europe 3: MUTTI Leonardo, LOVERIDGE Alice<br />
Europe 4: KULPA Konrad, BLIZNET Olga<br />
Europe 5: BAJGER Ondrej, BARAVOK Katsiaryna<br />
Europe 6: LEITGEB Stefan, GALIC Alex<br />
France: GAUZY Simon, PANG Celine<br />
Germany: WAGNER Florian, SOLJA Petrissa<br />
Hong Kong: CHIU Chung Hei, NG Ka Yee<br />
Hungary: LAKATOS Tamas, NAGYVARADI Mercedes<br />
India: DAS Avik, BHANDARKAR Mallika<br />
Intercontinental 1: HMAM Adem, GU Yuting<br />
Intercontinental 2: HOLIKOV Elmurod, NOSKOVA Yana<br />
Intercontinental 3: MEJIA Luis, PHAN Lily<br />
Intercontinental 4: MASSAH Patrick, GIARDI Letizia<br />
Japan: NIWA Koki, TANIOKA Ayuka<br />
Korea: KIM Dong Hyun, YANG Ha Eun<br />
Netherlands: HAGERAATS Koen, EERLAND Britt<br />
New Zealand: WU Kevin, WU Julia<br />
Pan America 1: GAVILAN Axel, HSING Ariel<br />
Pan America 2: SARAGOVI Pablo, CORDERO Carelyn<br />
Pan America 3: TAPIA Rodrigo, ROSHEUVEL Adielle<br />
Singapore: CHEW Zhe Yu Clarence, LI Isabelle Siyun<br />
Sri Lanka: ARSA MARAKKALA Hasintha, VITHANAGE Nuwani<br />
Thailand: SANTIWATTANATARM Tanapol, SAWETTABUT Suthasini<br />
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Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists<br />
Women<br />
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Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
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CHEN JING<br />
National Association: China (<strong>to</strong> 1992), Chinese<br />
Taipei (from 1993)<br />
Date of Birth: 20th September 1968<br />
Place of Birth: Wuhan, Hubei Province, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged seven<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Feng Mengya,<br />
former Vice-Administra<strong>to</strong>r of Hubei Sports<br />
Administration<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Becoming the 1988<br />
Olympic Games women’s singles champion.<br />
Style: Left-handed attacking player, shakehands<br />
grip<br />
Playing Strength: Wide range of services<br />
combined with speed<br />
First Entered World Ranking: January 1987<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 2 (March, June<br />
1989 & 1990)<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1988 Seoul WS Gold WD Silver<br />
1996 Atlanta WS Silver<br />
2000 Sydney WS Bronze<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1987 New Delhi WT Gold<br />
1989 Dortmund WT Gold WS Bronze<br />
WD Silver XD Bronze<br />
1993 Gothenburg WS Silver<br />
1997 Manchester XD Bronze<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur WT Silver<br />
Other Major Title<br />
1999 WS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Sydney<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-2000 Winner of four Women’s Singles<br />
and four Women’s Doubles titles<br />
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Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
DENG YAPING<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 6th February 1973<br />
Place of Birth: Zhengzhou, Henan Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Zhang Xielin,<br />
Coach of National Table Tennis Team<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the 1996<br />
Women’s Singles title in Atlanta<br />
Style: Right-handed, shake-hands grip; used<br />
long pimples on backhand<br />
Playing Strength: Very quick <strong>to</strong> change from<br />
backhand <strong>to</strong> forehand, strong forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: January 1987<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (from May<br />
1991 <strong>to</strong> December 1998)<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1992 Barcelona WS Gold WD Gold<br />
1996 Atlanta WS Gold WD Gold XD Silver<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1989 Dortmund WD Gold<br />
1991 Chiba WT Silver WS Gold WD Silver<br />
1993 Gothenburg WT Gold WD Silver<br />
1995 Tianjin WT Gold WS Gold WD Gold<br />
1997 Manchester WT Gold WS Gold<br />
WD Gold XD Silver<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1988 WS Asian Cup, Philippines<br />
1990 WS Asia Top 8, Huangshi<br />
1990 WT, WS, XD Asian Games, Beijing<br />
1990 WT World Team Cup, Hokkaido<br />
1991 WT World Team Cup, Barcelona<br />
1992 WS Asian Cup, Hong Kong<br />
1992 WD World Doubles Cup, Las Vegas<br />
1994 WT, WS Asian Championships, Tianjin<br />
1994 WT, XD Asian Games, Hiroshima<br />
1995 WT World Team Cup, Atlanta<br />
1996 WS Women’s World Cup, Hong Kong<br />
1996 WS, WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Tianjin<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-1997 Winner of four Women’s<br />
Singles and three Women’s<br />
Doubles titles<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
182<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
GUO YUE<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 17th July 1988<br />
Place of Birth: Anshan, Liaoning Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged five<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Kong Linghui,<br />
Coach of National Table Tennis Team<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the gold<br />
medal in the Women’s Team event at the 2008<br />
Beijing Games<br />
Style: Left-handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and speed, fast<br />
forehand <strong>to</strong>p spin<br />
First Entered World Ranking: March 2001<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (January 2008)<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
2004 Athens WD Gold<br />
2008 Beijing WT Gold WS Bronze<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
2003 Paris WD Silver<br />
2004 Doha WT Gold<br />
2005 Shanghai WS Bronze WD Silver<br />
XD Gold<br />
2006 Bremen WT Gold<br />
2007 Zagreb WS Gold WD Silver XD Gold<br />
2008 Guangzhou WT Gold<br />
2009 Yokohama WS Silver WD Gold<br />
2010 Moscow WT Silver<br />
2011 Rotterdam WS Bronze WD Gold<br />
<strong>2012</strong> Dortmund WT Gold<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
2001 JGT, JGD Asian Youth Championships,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
2003 WT Asian Championships, Bangkok<br />
2003 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Guangzhou<br />
2004 WS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2005 WT, XD Asian Championships, Jeju-do<br />
2006 WT Asian Championships, Doha<br />
2006 WS Asian Games, Doha<br />
2007 WT Asian Championships, Yangzhou<br />
2007 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2009 WT World Team Cup, Linz<br />
2010 WT World Team Cup, Dubai<br />
2010 WT, WD Asian Games, Guangzhou<br />
2011 WT World Team Cup, Magdeburg<br />
2011 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, <strong>London</strong><br />
<strong>2012</strong> WT Asian Championships, Macau<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
2002-2011 Winner of 11 Women’s Singles,<br />
35 Women’s Doubles and two<br />
Women’s titles<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 183
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
HYUN JUNG HWA<br />
National Association: Korea<br />
Date of Birth: 6th Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1969<br />
Place of Birth: Busan, Korea<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged nine. At<br />
elementary school, she watched pupils playing<br />
table tennis through the window and then was<br />
curious. She was interested <strong>to</strong> learn <strong>to</strong> play<br />
table tennis so asked the teacher if she could<br />
learn.<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Mother always<br />
supported her ambitions<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Receiving the gold<br />
medal at the Seoul Olympic Games in front of<br />
Korean specta<strong>to</strong>rs; everybody was pleased and<br />
she became a sports star.<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Aggressive forehand<br />
attacking play<br />
First Entered World Ranking: 1986<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 3 (May 1991 and<br />
from Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1991 <strong>to</strong> February 1994)<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1988 Seoul WD Gold<br />
1992 Barcelona WS Bronze WD Bronze<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1987 New Delhi WD Gold<br />
1989 Dortmund WT Silver WS Silver XD Gold<br />
1991 Chiba WT Gold<br />
1993 Gothenburg WT Bronze WS Gold XD Silver<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1986 JGS Asian Youth Championships,<br />
Nagoya<br />
1986 WT Asian Games, Seoul<br />
1988 WT, WD, XD Asian Championships,<br />
Niigata<br />
1990 WT, XD Asian Championships,<br />
Kuala Lumpur<br />
1990 WD Asian Games, Beijing<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
184<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Manfred Schillings<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
2000 Sydney WS Silver WD Gold<br />
LI JU<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 22nd January 1976<br />
Place of Birth: Nan<strong>to</strong>ng, Jiangsu Province<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Jin Lufang, the<br />
Chief Coach of Jiangsu Province Team.<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the<br />
women’s doubles gold medal at the 2000<br />
Sydney Olympic Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player, shakehands<br />
grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and heavy <strong>to</strong>pspin<br />
play<br />
First Entered World Ranking: December 1991<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 2 (August 1997 <strong>to</strong><br />
March 1998, May 1998 <strong>to</strong> June 1998, August<br />
1998 <strong>to</strong> January 1999, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1999 <strong>to</strong> June<br />
2000, August 2000 <strong>to</strong> December 2000, February<br />
2001 <strong>to</strong> June 2001)<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1997 Manchester WT Gold WS Bronze<br />
WD Bronze<br />
1999 Eindhoven WD Gold<br />
1999 Kuala Lumpur WT Gold<br />
2001 Osaka WT Gold WD Gold<br />
2003 Paris WS Bronze WD Bronze<br />
2004 Doha WT Gold<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1986 WT Asian Games, Seoul<br />
1996 WT, WD Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
1997 WS, WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
1998 WT, WS Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
1998 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Paris<br />
1998 WT, WD Asian Games, Bangkok<br />
1999 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Sydney<br />
2000 WS Women’s World Cup, Phnom Penh<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-2004 Winner of seven Women’s Singles<br />
and six Women’s Doubles titles<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 185
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
QIAO HONG<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 21st November 1968<br />
Place of Birth: Wuhan, Hubei Province, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged seven<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Feng Mengya,<br />
the former Vice-Administra<strong>to</strong>r of Hubei Sports<br />
Administration<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the gold<br />
medal in the women’s doubles at the 1992<br />
Barcelona Olympic Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service, and consistency in<br />
rallies<br />
First Entered World Ranking: March 1989<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (June 1989,<br />
1990 and April 1991)<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
2000 Sydney WS Silver WD Gold<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1992 Barcelona WS Silver WD Gold<br />
1992 Atlanta WS Bronze WD Gold<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1989 Dortmund WS Gold WD Gold<br />
1991 Chiba WT Silver WD Silver<br />
1993 Gothenburg WT Gold WS Bronze<br />
WD Silver<br />
1995 Tianjin WT Gold WS Silver WD Gold<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1990 WT Asian Games, Beijing<br />
1990 WT World Team Cup, Hokkaido<br />
1990 WS, WD Asian Championships,<br />
Kuala Lumpur<br />
1991 WT World Team Cup, Barcelona<br />
1992 WD World Doubles Cup, Las Vegas<br />
1994 WS Asian Cup, Shanghai<br />
1994 WT Asian Games, Hiroshima<br />
1994 WT Asian Championships, Tianjin<br />
1995 WT World Team Cup, Atlanta<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996 Winner of one Women’s Singles title<br />
186<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: An Sung Ho<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
YANG YOUNG JA<br />
National Association: Korea<br />
Date of Birth: 6th July 1964<br />
Place of Birth: Iksan, Korea<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged nine<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Her mother<br />
always encouraged and supported her<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the<br />
gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games<br />
against the Chinese, who were the strongest<br />
players at the time<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player, penholder<br />
grip<br />
Playing Strength: Attacking from the forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: 1982<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 2 (June 1983 and<br />
June 1987)<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1988 Seoul WD Gold<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1983 Tokyo WS Silver<br />
1985 Gothenburg WT Bronze<br />
1987 New Delhi WT Silver WS Silver<br />
WD Gold XD Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1986 WT Asian Games, Seoul<br />
1988 WT, WD Asian Championships, Niigata<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 187
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Tamasu Butterfly<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
2000 Sydney WS Gold WD Gold<br />
2004 Athens WD Gold<br />
2004 Beijing WT Gold WS Silver<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1997 Manchester WT Gold WS Silver<br />
WD Silver XD Bronze<br />
1999 Eindhoven WS Gold WD Gold<br />
XD Bronze<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur WT Gold<br />
2001 Osaka WT Gold WS Gold WD Gold<br />
2003 Paris WS Gold WD Gold XD Gold<br />
2004 Doha WT Gold<br />
2005 Shanghai WD Gold<br />
2006 Bremen WT Gold<br />
2007 Zagreb WD Gold XD Silver<br />
2008 Guangzhou WT Gold<br />
WANG NAN<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 1st December 1983<br />
Place of Birth: Fushun, Liaoning Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged seven<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Zeng<br />
Chuanqiang<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the gold<br />
medal in the women’s singles event at the<br />
2000 Sydney Olympic Games<br />
Style: Left -handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: Topspin play close <strong>to</strong> the<br />
table<br />
First Entered World Ranking: January 1995<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (January 1999<br />
<strong>to</strong> November 2002)<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1994 JGS Asian Youth Championships, Niigata<br />
1996 WT, WD Asian Championships, Kallang<br />
1997 WS Women’s World Cup, Shanghai<br />
1997 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
1998 WS Women’s World Cup, Taipei City<br />
1998 WT, WD, XD Asian Games, Bangkok<br />
1998 WS Asia Top 12, Kish Island<br />
1998 WT Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
1998 WS, WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Paris<br />
1999 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Sydney<br />
2001 WS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Hainan<br />
2003 WS Women’s World Cup, Hong Kong<br />
2004 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2006 WS Asian Cup, Kobe<br />
2006 WT Asian Games, Doha<br />
2006 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
2007 WT World Team Cup, Magdeburg<br />
2007 WT Asian Championships, Yangzhou<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-2008 Winner of 16 Women’s Singles,16<br />
Women’s Doubles and two Women’s<br />
Team titles<br />
188<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
2004 Athens WS Gold WD Gold<br />
2004 Beijing WT Gold WS Gold<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1999 Eindhoven WS Silver WD Bronze<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur WT Gold<br />
2001 Osaka WT Gold WS Bronze WD Bronze<br />
2003 Paris WS Silver WD Gold<br />
2004 Doha WT Gold<br />
2005 Shanghai WS Gold WD Gold<br />
2006 Bremen WT Gold<br />
2007 Zagreb WS Bronze WD Gold<br />
2008 Guangzhou WT Gold<br />
2008 Yokohama WS Gold<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
ZHANG YINING<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 5th Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1981<br />
Place of Birth: Beijing, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged five<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Li Sun, Chinese<br />
national team coach<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the<br />
women’s singles title at two consecutive<br />
Olympic Games<br />
Style: Right-handed all-round player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: The complete player,<br />
technically correct in every aspect<br />
First Entered World Ranking: December 1997<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (January 2003<br />
<strong>to</strong> December 2007, February 2008 <strong>to</strong> Oc<strong>to</strong>ber<br />
2008, December 2008 <strong>to</strong> December 2009)<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1997 JGT Asian Youth Championships,<br />
Sanagi Goa<br />
1998 WT Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
2000 WS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Kobe<br />
2001 WS Women’s World Cup, Wuhu<br />
2002 WS Women’s World Cup, Singapore<br />
2002 WS Asian Games, Busan<br />
2003 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Guangzhou<br />
2004 WS Women’s World Cup, Hangzhou<br />
2004 WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2005 WS Women’s World Cup, Guangzhou<br />
2005 WS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Fuzhou<br />
2006 WT, WS Asian Championships, Yangzhou<br />
2006 WS, WD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
2007 WT World Team Cup, Magdeburg<br />
TTF Pro Tour<br />
1999-2000 Winner of 29 Women’s Singles, 21<br />
Women’s Doubles and two Women’s<br />
Team titles<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 189
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists<br />
Men<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
190<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 21st March 1965<br />
Place of Birth: Xindu, Sichuan Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged seven<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Xiao<br />
Yangzong, President of the Sichuan Sports<br />
Institute<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the<br />
men’s doubles title at the 1988 Olympic<br />
Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack,<br />
forehand notably strong<br />
First Entered World Ranking: 1984<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 2 (May 1985,<br />
1986, June 1987)<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
CHEN LONGCAN<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1988 Seoul MD Gold<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1988 Seoul MD Gold<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1985 Gothenburg MT Gold MS Silver<br />
1987 New Delhi MT Gold MD Gold<br />
1989 Dortmund MT Silver MD Bronze<br />
XD Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1984 MT Asian Championships, Islamabad<br />
1985 MS Asian Cup, Singapore<br />
1986 MS Men’s World Cup, Port of Spain<br />
1988 MT, MS, MD Asian Championships,<br />
Niigata<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 191
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
2004 Athens MD Gold<br />
CHEN QI<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 15th April 1984<br />
Place of Birth: Nan<strong>to</strong>ng, Jiangsu Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Liu Guoliang,<br />
Head Coach Chinese National Men’s Team<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
doubles title at the 2004 Olympic Games<br />
Style: Left-handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack, fast<br />
forehand <strong>to</strong>pspin<br />
First Entered World Ranking: Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2003<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 5 (March 2004 <strong>to</strong><br />
June 2004, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2004 <strong>to</strong> November 2004)<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
2005 Shanghai MD Bronze<br />
2006 Bremen MT Gold<br />
2007 Zagreb MD Gold<br />
2008 Guangzhou MT Gold<br />
2009 Yokohama MD Gold<br />
2011 Rotterdam MD Silver<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
2003 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Guangzhou<br />
2004 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2007 MT World Team Cup, Magdeburg<br />
2007 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
2003-2011 Winner of four Men’s Singles<br />
and 13 Men’s Doubles titles<br />
192<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: John Oros<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1996 Atlanta MD Gold<br />
2000 Sydney MS Gold MD Silver<br />
KONG<br />
LINGHUI<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 18th Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1975<br />
Place of Birth: Harbin, Heilongjiang Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Cai Zhenhua,<br />
Vice-Administra<strong>to</strong>r of General Administration<br />
of Sport in China<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
singles title at the 2000 Olympic Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: The complete player with<br />
speed a key <strong>to</strong> success<br />
First Entered World Ranking: Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1992<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (January 1996<br />
<strong>to</strong> November 1997, March 1999, May 1999,<br />
May 2000 <strong>to</strong> June 2000, September 2000 <strong>to</strong><br />
November 2000)<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1995 Tianjin MT Gold MS Gold XD Silver<br />
1997 Manchester MT Gold MS Bronze<br />
MD Gold XD Silver<br />
1999 Eindhoven MD Gold<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur MT Silver<br />
2001 Osaka MT Silver MS Silver MD Silver<br />
2003 Paris MS Bronze MD Silver<br />
2004 Doha MT Gold<br />
2005 Shanghai MD Gold Medal<br />
Other Major Titles Other Major Titles<br />
1994 MT, MS Asian Championships, Tianjin<br />
1994 MT, XD Asian Games, Hiroshima<br />
1994 XD Asian Championships, Tianjin<br />
1995 MS Men’s World Cup, Nîmes<br />
1996 MS, MD Asian Championships, Kallang<br />
1996 MS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Tianjin<br />
1997 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
1998 MT, MD Asian Games, Bangkok<br />
1999 MS Asia Top 12, Kish Island<br />
1999 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Kobe<br />
2002 MT Asian Games, Busan<br />
2002 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
S<strong>to</strong>ckholm.<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
2003-2011 Winner of eight Men’s Singles<br />
and 19 Men’s Doubles titles<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 193
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: John Oros<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1996 Atlanta MS Gold MD Gold<br />
2000 Sydney MS Bronze MD Silver<br />
LIU GUOLIANG<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 10th January 1976<br />
Place of Birth: Xinxiang, Henan Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Cai Zhenhua,<br />
Vice-Administra<strong>to</strong>r of General Administration<br />
of Sport in China<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
singles gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic<br />
Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player, penholder<br />
grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service in particular and<br />
speed of play<br />
First Entered World Ranking: July 1992<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (November<br />
1996, December 1996, November 1998, January<br />
1999, February 1999, August 1999, September<br />
1999)<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1993 Gothenburg MT Gold MD Bronze<br />
1995 Tianjin MT Gold MS Silver<br />
MD Bronze<br />
1995 Manchester MT Gold MD Gold<br />
XD Gold<br />
1999 Eindhoven MS Gold MD Gold<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur MT Silver<br />
2000 Osaka MT Gold MD Silver XD Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1992 MT, XD Asian Championships, New Delhi<br />
1994 MT, MD Asian Championships, Tianjin<br />
1994 MT World Team Cup, Nîmes<br />
1996 MS Men’s World Cup, Nîmes<br />
1996 MD Asian Championships, Kallang<br />
1997 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
1998 MT, MD Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
1998 MT, MD Asian Games, Bangkok<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
2003-2002 Winner of six Men’s Singles and<br />
10 Men’s Doubles titles<br />
194<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
LU LIN<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 6th April 1969<br />
Place of Birth: Wenling, Zhejiang Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Cai Zhenhua,<br />
Vice-Administra<strong>to</strong>r of General Administration<br />
of Sport in China<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
doubles gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona<br />
Olympic Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack,<br />
powerful forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: July 1992<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 18 (December<br />
1993, March 1995)<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
1992 Barcelona MD Gold<br />
1996 Atlanta MD Silver<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1991 Chiba MD Silver<br />
1993 Gothenburg MT Silver MD Gold<br />
1993 Tianjin MD Gold<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1990 MT Asian Championships, Kuala Lumpur<br />
1994 MT Asian Championships, Tianjin<br />
1994 MT Asian Games, Hiroshima<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 195
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>:Rémy Gros<br />
Olympic Games<br />
2004 Athens MD Gold<br />
2008 Beijing MT Gold MS Gold<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1999 Eindhoven MS Silver XD Gold<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur MT Silver<br />
2001 Osaka MT Gold MS Bronze<br />
2003 Paris MD Bronze XD Gold<br />
2004 Doha MT Gold<br />
2005 Shanghai MS Silver MD Bronze<br />
2006 Bremen MT Gold<br />
2007 Zagreb MS Gold MD Gold XD Silver<br />
2008 Guangzhou MT Gold<br />
2009 Yokohama MS Bronze<br />
2010 Moscow MT Gold<br />
2011 Rotterdam MD Silver<br />
<strong>2012</strong> Dortmund MT Gold<br />
MA LIN<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 19th February 1980<br />
Place of Birth: Shenyang, Liaoning, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged five<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Mr Wu<br />
Jingping, Chinese National Team Coach<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic<br />
Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player, penholder<br />
grip<br />
Playing Strength: Expert at service and first<br />
attack, powerful<br />
First Entered World Ranking: November 1996<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (November<br />
2002, July 2003, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2003 <strong>to</strong> May 2004,<br />
March 2007 <strong>to</strong> May 2007, July 2007 <strong>to</strong> September<br />
2007)<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1996 MS Asian Cup, New Delhi<br />
1996 XD Asian Championships, Kallang<br />
1998 MT, MD Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
1999 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Sydney<br />
2000 MT Asian Championships, Doha<br />
2001 MS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Hainan<br />
2002 MT Asian Games, Busan<br />
2002 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
S<strong>to</strong>ckholm<br />
2000 MS Men’s World Cup, Yangzhou<br />
2003 MS Men’s World Cup, Jiangyin<br />
2003 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Guangzhou<br />
2004 MS Men’s World Cup, Hangzhou<br />
2004 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2006 MS Men’s World Cup, Paris<br />
2006 MT, XD Asian Games, Doha<br />
2007 MT Asian Championships, Yangzhou<br />
2007 MT World Team Cup, Magdeburg<br />
2007 MS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2010 MT Asian Games, Guangzhou<br />
2011 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, <strong>London</strong><br />
<strong>2012</strong> MT Asian Championships, Macau<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-2011 Winner of 20 Men’s Singles, 39<br />
Men’s Doubles and two Men’s<br />
Team titles<br />
196<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
RYU<br />
SEUNG MIN<br />
National Association: Korea<br />
Date of Birth: 5th August 1982<br />
Place of Birth: Seoul, Korea<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged eight<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Father always<br />
encouraged and supported<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
singles gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic<br />
Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Speed and a powerful<br />
forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: May 1997<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 2 (August 2004)<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Olympic Games Medals<br />
2004 Athens MS Gold<br />
2008 Beijing MT Bronze<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: An Sung Ho<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1999 Doha MT Bronze<br />
2006 Bremen MT Silver<br />
2007 Zagreb MS Bronze<br />
2008 Guangzhou MS Silver<br />
2010 Moscow MT Bronze<br />
<strong>2012</strong> Dortmund MT Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1997 JBT Asian Youth Championships,<br />
Sanagi Goa<br />
1999 JBS, JBD Asian Youth<br />
Championships, Chennai<br />
1998 MT Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
2002 MD Asian Games, Busan<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1997-2011 Winner of three Men’s Singles<br />
and seven Men’s Doubles titles<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 197
Pho<strong>to</strong>: John Oros<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
JAN-OVE<br />
WALDNER<br />
National Association: Sweden<br />
Date of Birth: 3rd Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1965<br />
Place of Birth: S<strong>to</strong>ckholm, Sweden<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: His brother<br />
Kjell-Åke, later Mikael Appelgren at the<br />
Spärvägen Club and in the Swedish national<br />
team - “He was like an elder brother”<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
singles gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona<br />
Olympic Games. “At the end of the match I<br />
was greeted by the King and Queen of<br />
Sweden who had watched the match”<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack,<br />
doing the unexpected<br />
First Entered World Ranking: 1982<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (June 1989,<br />
January 1990 <strong>to</strong> December 1990, April 1991,<br />
August 1992, December 1993, June 1995, May<br />
1997 <strong>to</strong> Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1997)<br />
Olympic Games<br />
1992 Barcelona MS Gold<br />
2000 Sydney MS Silver<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1983 Tokyo MT Silver<br />
1985 Gothenburg MT Silver<br />
1987 New Delhi MT Silver MS Silver<br />
1989 Dortmund MT Gold MS Gold<br />
1991 Chiba MT Gold MS Silverl<br />
1993 Gothenburg MT Gold MS Bronze<br />
1995 Tianjin MT Silver<br />
1997 Manchester MS Gold MD Silver<br />
1999 Eindhoven MS Bronze<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur MT Gold<br />
2001 Osaka MT Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1980 JBD, CBT European Youth (Cadet)<br />
Championships, Poznan<br />
1981 JBT, JBS, JBD European Youth<br />
(Junior) Championships, Topolcany<br />
1982 JBT, JBS, JBD European Youth<br />
(Junior) Championships, Hollabrunn<br />
1983 JBS European Youth Championships,<br />
Malmö<br />
1984 MS Europe Top 12, Bratislava<br />
1986 MT European Championships, Prague<br />
1986 MS Europe Top 12, Sodertalje<br />
1988 MT, MD European Championships, Paris<br />
1988 MS Europe Top 12, Ljubljana<br />
1989 MS Europe Top 12, Charleroi<br />
1990 MS Men’s World Cup, Chiba<br />
1990 MT European Championships,<br />
Gothenburg<br />
1990 MT World Team Cup, Hokkaido<br />
1992 MT European Championships, Stuttgart<br />
1993 MS Europe Top 12, Copenhagen<br />
1995 MS Europe Top 12, Dijon<br />
1996 MS Europe Top 12, Charleroi<br />
1996 MS, MD European Championships,<br />
Bratislava<br />
1996 MT European Championships, Bratislava<br />
2000 MT European Championships, Bremen<br />
2002 MT European Championships, Zagreb<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-2005 Winner of four Men’s Singles<br />
and one Men’s Doubles titles<br />
198<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Olympic Games<br />
2004 Athens MS Silver<br />
2008 Beijing MT Gold MS Silver<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
WANG HAO<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 3rd Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 1965<br />
Place of Birth: Changchun, Jilin Province, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged five years<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Liu Guoliang,<br />
the Chinese National Men’s Team Coach<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning gold in<br />
the men’s team event at the 2008 Olympic<br />
Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Counter-<strong>to</strong>pspin<br />
attacking play<br />
First Entered World Ranking: September 1999<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (December<br />
2004, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2007 <strong>to</strong> December 2009, April<br />
2011, June 2011 <strong>to</strong> August 2009)<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
2003 Paris MD Silver XD Bronze<br />
2004 Doha MT Gold<br />
2005 Doha MD Gold Medal<br />
2006 Bremen MT Gold<br />
2007 Zagreb MS Bronze MD Silver<br />
2008 Guangzhou MT Gold<br />
2009 Yokohama MS Gold MD Gold<br />
2010 Moscow MT Gold<br />
2011 Rotterdam MS Silver MD Gold<br />
<strong>2012</strong> Dortmund MT Gold<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1999 JBT Asian Youth Championships,<br />
Chennai<br />
2003 MT, MS Asian Championships, Bangkok<br />
2003 MS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Guangzhou<br />
2005 MT Asian Championships, Jeju-do<br />
2005 MS Asian Cup, New Delhi<br />
2006 MT, MS Asian Games, Doha<br />
2006 MS Asian Cup, Kobe<br />
2006 MS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals,<br />
Hong Kong<br />
2007 MS Men’s World Cup, Barcelona<br />
2007 MT, MS Asian Championships, Yangzhou<br />
2007 MT World Team Cup, Magdeburg<br />
2008 MS Men’s World Cup, Liège<br />
2010 MT World Team Cup Classic, Dubai<br />
2010 MT Asian Games, Guangzhou<br />
2010 MS Men’s World Cup, Magdeburg<br />
2010 MD Asian Games, Guangzhou<br />
<strong>2012</strong> MT Asian Championships, Macau<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
2003-2002 Winner of 12 Men’s Singles, 22<br />
Men’s Doubles and two Men’s<br />
Team titles<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 199
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Olympic Games<br />
2000 Sydney MD Gold<br />
2004 Athens MS Bronze<br />
2008 Beijing MT Gold MS Bronze<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1997 Manchester XD Bronze<br />
1999 Eindhoven MD Silver XD Bronze Medal<br />
1999 Kuala Lumpur MT Silver<br />
2001 Osaka MT Gold MS Gold MD Gold<br />
2003 Paris MD Gold<br />
2004 Qatar MT Gold<br />
2005 Shanghai MS Gold MD Bronze XD Gold<br />
2006 Bremen MT Gold<br />
2007 Zagreb MS Gold MD Silver XD Gold<br />
2008 Guangzhou MT Gold<br />
2009 Yokohama MS Silver<br />
WANG LIQIN<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 18th June 1978<br />
Place of Birth: Shanghai, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Liu Guoliang,<br />
the Chinese National Men’s Team Coach<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning the men’s<br />
doubles gold at the 2000 Olympic Games<br />
Style: Right-handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: Counter <strong>to</strong>pspin attacking<br />
play, powerful forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: December 1995<br />
Highest World Ranking: No.1 (August 2000,<br />
December 2000 <strong>to</strong> Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2002, June 2004 <strong>to</strong><br />
February 2007, May 2007)<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1994 JBS Asian Youth Championships, Niigata<br />
1996 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Tianjin<br />
1998 MT, MS, XD Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
1998 MT, XD Asian Games, Bangkok<br />
1998 MS, MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Paris<br />
2000 MT Asian Championships, Doha<br />
2000 MS, MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Kobe<br />
2002 MT, MS Asian Games, Busan<br />
2004 MS ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2005 MT, MS, XD Asian Championships, Jeju-do<br />
2007 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Beijing<br />
2009 MT Asian Championships, Lucknow<br />
2010 MT World Team Cup Classic, Dubai<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-2011 Winner of 21 Men’s Singles,<br />
24 Men’s Doubles and two Men’s<br />
Team titles<br />
200<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
WANG TAO<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 13th December 1967<br />
Place of Birth: Beijing, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged seven<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Cai Zhenhua,<br />
Vice-Administra<strong>to</strong>r of General Administration<br />
of Sport in China<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning men’s<br />
doubles gold at the 1992 Olympic Games<br />
Style: Left-handed attacking player,<br />
shake-hands grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack,<br />
strong forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: June 1989<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (September<br />
1995 <strong>to</strong> December 1995)<br />
Olympic Games<br />
1992 Barcelona MD Gold<br />
1996 Atlanta MS Silver MD Silver<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1991 Chiba MD Silver<br />
1993 Gothenburg MT Silver<br />
MD Gold XD Gold<br />
1995 Tianjin MT Gold MS Bronze<br />
MD Gold XD Gold<br />
1997 Manchester MT Gold<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1990 MT, MS Asian Championships,<br />
Kuala Lumpur<br />
1991 MT World Team Cup, Barcelona<br />
1993 MS Asian Top Eight Huangshi<br />
1994 MT Asian Championships, Tianjin<br />
1994 MT, MS Asian Games, Hiroshima<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996 Winner of one Men’s Doubles title<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 201
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Manfred Schillings<br />
WEI QINGGUANG (Seiko Iseki)<br />
National Association: China (before 2000),<br />
Japan (from 2000 known as Seiko Iseki)<br />
Date of Birth: 2nd July 1962<br />
Place of Birth: Nanning, Guangxi Province,<br />
China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged seven<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Mr Xu Shaofa<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning men’s<br />
doubles gold at the 1988 Olympic Games<br />
Style: Left-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack,<br />
powerful forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: June 1989<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 1 (September<br />
1995 <strong>to</strong> December 1995)<br />
Olympic Games<br />
1988 Seoul MD Gold Medal<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1987 New Delhi MD Gold<br />
1989 Dortmund MD Bronze<br />
2000 Kuala Lumpur MT Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1986 MS Asian Cup, Karachi<br />
1988 MS Asian Cup, Manila<br />
1988 MT Asian Championships, Niigata<br />
1990 XD Asian Games, Beijing<br />
202<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
YAN SEN<br />
National Association: China<br />
Date of Birth: 16th August 1975<br />
Place of Birth: Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged six<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Cai Zhenhua,<br />
Vice-Administra<strong>to</strong>r of General Administration<br />
of Sport in China<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning men’s<br />
doubles gold at the 2000 Olympic Games<br />
Style: Left-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack,<br />
powerful forehand<br />
First Entered World Ranking: December 1995<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 8 (November<br />
1988)<br />
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Olympic Games<br />
2000 Sydney MD Gold<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1997 Manchester MS Bronze<br />
1999 Eindhoven MD Silver<br />
2001 Osaka MD Gold<br />
2003 Paris MD Gold<br />
2005 Shanghai MD Bronze XD Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1990 XD Asian Games, Beijing<br />
1996 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Tianjin<br />
1998 MT Asian Championships, Osaka<br />
1998 MT Asian Games, Bangkok<br />
1998 MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Paris<br />
2000 MT Asian Championships, Doha 2000<br />
MD ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals, Kobe<br />
2002 MT Asian Games, Busan<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: ITTF Archives<br />
ITTF Pro Tour<br />
1996-2004 Winner of 12 Men’s Doubles titles<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 203
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: An Sung Ho<br />
Olympic Games<br />
1988 Seoul MS Gold MD Bronze<br />
1992 Barcelona MD Bronze<br />
1996 Atlanta MD Bronze<br />
YOO NAM KYU<br />
National Association: Korea<br />
Date of Birth: 4th June 1968<br />
Place of Birth: Busan, Korea<br />
First Played Table Tennis: Aged eleven,<br />
before then it was football but table tennis<br />
was more exciting<br />
Greatest Influence on Career: Parents<br />
Greatest Olympic Memory: Winning men’s<br />
doubles gold at the 1988 Olympic Games<br />
Style: Left-handed attacking player,<br />
penholder grip<br />
Playing Strength: Service and first attack,<br />
speed of play<br />
First Entered World Ranking: 1986<br />
Highest World Ranking: No. 3 (March 1989)<br />
World Championships Medals<br />
1987 New Delhi MS Bronze<br />
1989 Dortmund XD Gold<br />
1993 Gothenburg MD Bronze XD Gold<br />
1995 Tianjin MT Bronze<br />
1997 Manchester MT Bronze<br />
Other Major Titles<br />
1983 JBT, JBD Asian Youth Championships,<br />
Manama<br />
1986 JBT Asian Youth Championships,<br />
Nagoya<br />
1986 MT, MS Asian Games, Seoul<br />
1988 XD Asian Championships, Niigata<br />
1990 XD Asian Championships,<br />
Kuala Lumpur<br />
1990 MD World Doubles Cup, Seoul<br />
1992 MD World Doubles Cup, Las Vegas<br />
1995 MT World Team Cup, Atlanta<br />
204<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Olympic Gold Medallists Men<br />
Olympians<br />
1988 Seoul Olympic Games<br />
1992 Barcelona Olympic Games<br />
1996 Atlanta Olympic Games<br />
2000 Sydney Olympic Games<br />
2004 Athens Olympic Games<br />
2008 Beijing Olympic Games<br />
2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games<br />
1988 - 2008 Gold Medallists<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 205
SEOUL OLYMPIC GAMES 1988 - MEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
ADEYEMO Fatai<br />
AHN Jae Hyung<br />
ALVAREZ Mario<br />
ANDREW Skylet<br />
APPELGREN Mikael<br />
BANKOLE Yome<br />
BAR Gottfried<br />
BELTAIEF Sofiane<br />
BIROCHEAU Patrick<br />
BOHM Georg-Zsolt<br />
CHAN Chi Ming<br />
CHEN Longcan<br />
CHIH Chin-Long<br />
CHIH Chin-Shui<br />
CHOO Choy Alain<br />
COOKE Alan<br />
COSTANTINI Massimo<br />
DING Yi<br />
DOUGLAS Desmond<br />
EL-SAKET Sherif<br />
FERMIN Raymundo<br />
FETZNER Steffen<br />
GAMBRA Jorge<br />
GATIEN Jean-Philippe<br />
GHORPADE Sujay<br />
GRIFFITHS Barry<br />
GRUBBA Andrzej<br />
HABERL Gary<br />
HARCZI Zolt<br />
HELMY Ashraf<br />
HOSNANI Gilani<br />
HUANG Huei-Chieh<br />
HUSSEIN Abdulwahab Ali<br />
JACKSON Peter<br />
JIANG Jialiang<br />
JONES Garfield<br />
KALINIC Zoran<br />
KANO Claudio<br />
KAWAI Carlos<br />
KIM Ki Taek<br />
KIM Wan<br />
KLAMPAR Tibor<br />
NGR<br />
KOR<br />
DOM<br />
GBR<br />
SWE<br />
NGR<br />
AUT<br />
TUN<br />
FRA<br />
FRG<br />
HKG<br />
CHN<br />
TPE<br />
TPE<br />
MRI<br />
GBR<br />
ITA<br />
AUT<br />
GBR<br />
EGY<br />
DOM<br />
FRG<br />
CHI<br />
FRA<br />
IND<br />
NZL<br />
POL<br />
AUS<br />
HUN<br />
EGY<br />
MRI<br />
TPE<br />
IRQ<br />
NZL<br />
CHN<br />
JAM<br />
YUG<br />
BRA<br />
BRA<br />
KOR<br />
KOR<br />
HUN<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
6th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
5th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
8th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
6th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
5th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
206<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
SEOUL OLYMPIC GAMES 1988 - MEN<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
KRISTON Zsolt<br />
KUCHARSKI Leszek<br />
LINDH Erik<br />
LIU Fuk Man<br />
LO Chuen Tsung<br />
LOFTI Joudi<br />
LOPEZ Francisco<br />
LUKOV Mariano<br />
LUPULESKU Ilija<br />
MAZUNOV Andrei<br />
MEHTA Kamlesh<br />
MERINGGI Tonny<br />
MIYAZAKI Yoshihi<strong>to</strong><br />
MOLENDA Piotr<br />
MUSA Atanda<br />
NG Joe Gideon<br />
NUÑEZ Marcos<br />
OMOTARA Titus<br />
O’NEILL Sean<br />
ONO Seiji<br />
PANSKY Jindrich<br />
PERSSON Jörgen<br />
PINTEA Horatio<br />
PREAN Carl<br />
PRIMORAC Zoran<br />
REBEL Jürgen<br />
ROSSKOPF Jörg<br />
ROZENBERG Boris<br />
SAIF Farjad<br />
SAITO Kiyoshi<br />
SAIVE Jean-Michel<br />
STA Mourad<br />
VONG Lu Veng<br />
WALDNER Jan-Ove<br />
WATANABE Takehiro<br />
WEI Qingguang<br />
WU Wen-Chia<br />
XU Zengcai<br />
YOO Nam Kyu<br />
HUN<br />
POL<br />
SWE<br />
HKG<br />
HKG<br />
TUN<br />
VEN<br />
BUL<br />
YUG<br />
URS<br />
IND<br />
INA<br />
JPN<br />
POL<br />
NGR<br />
CAN<br />
CHI<br />
NGR<br />
USA<br />
JPN<br />
TCH<br />
SWE<br />
CAN<br />
GBR<br />
YUG<br />
FRG<br />
FRG<br />
URS<br />
PAK<br />
JPN<br />
BEL<br />
TUN<br />
HKG<br />
SWE<br />
JPN<br />
CHN<br />
TPE<br />
CHN<br />
KOR<br />
Round of 16<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
7th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
8th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
6th place<br />
7th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
7th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
8th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
5th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 207
Olympians<br />
SEOUL OLYMPIC GAMES 1988 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
ABBATE-BULATOVA Fliura<br />
AKANMU Iyabo<br />
AL-DUKUM Jackline<br />
ALEJO Blanca<br />
BATORFI Csilla<br />
BEN AISSA Feyza<br />
BHUSHAN In Sook<br />
BISIACH Nadia<br />
BOGAERTS Karien<br />
CHANG Hsiu-Yu<br />
CHEN Jing<br />
DIAZ Jackelin<br />
DOMONKOS Mariann<br />
FAZLIC Jasna<br />
GEE Diana<br />
GUERGUELTCHEVA Daniela<br />
HONG Cha Ok<br />
HOSHINO Mika<br />
HRACHOVA Marie<br />
HUI So Hung<br />
HYUN Jung Hwa<br />
ISHIDA Kiyomi<br />
JIAO Zhimin<br />
KASALOVA Renata<br />
KIM Hae Ja<br />
KLOPPENBURG Mirjam<br />
KOVTUN Elena<br />
LAU Wai Cheng<br />
LEONG Mee Wan<br />
LI Huifen<br />
LIN Li-Zu<br />
LIYAU HO Monica<br />
MESHREF Nihal<br />
MOK Ka Sha<br />
NEMES Olga<br />
URS<br />
NGR<br />
JOR<br />
DOM<br />
HUN<br />
TUN<br />
USA<br />
AUS<br />
BEL<br />
TPE<br />
CHN<br />
CHI<br />
CAN<br />
YUG<br />
USA<br />
BUL<br />
KOR<br />
JPN<br />
TCH<br />
HKG<br />
KOR<br />
JPN<br />
CHN<br />
TCH<br />
ARG<br />
NED<br />
URS<br />
MAS<br />
MAS<br />
CHN<br />
TPE<br />
PER<br />
EGY<br />
HKG<br />
FRG<br />
5th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
8th place<br />
Round of 16<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
6th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
8th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
5th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
4th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
5th place<br />
7th place<br />
6th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
208<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
SEOUL OLYMPIC GAMES 1988 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
Olympians<br />
NOLTEN Katja<br />
OFFEI Patricia<br />
OWOLABI Kubrat<br />
PERKUCIN Gordana<br />
POPOVA Valentina<br />
POPPER Elisabeth<br />
ROY-SHAH Niyati<br />
SAFAROVA Alena<br />
TEPPER Kerri<br />
UCHIYAMA Kyoko<br />
URBAN Edit<br />
VRIESEKOOP Bettine<br />
YANG Young Ja<br />
FRG<br />
GHA<br />
NGR<br />
YUG<br />
URS<br />
VEN<br />
IND<br />
TCH<br />
AUS<br />
JPN<br />
HUN<br />
NED<br />
KOR<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
6th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
7th place<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
8th place<br />
7th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Colin Clemett<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 209
BARCELONA OLYMPIC GAMES 1992 - MEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
AL-HAMDAN Raid<br />
ALIDOKHT Ebrahim<br />
AMPLATZ Erich<br />
APPELGREN Mikael<br />
ARADO Ruben<br />
BABOOR Chetan<br />
BANKOLE Yome<br />
BOTHA Louis<br />
BOWER Hagen<br />
BUTLER James<br />
CASARES Rober<strong>to</strong><br />
CHATELAIN Nicolas<br />
CHILA Patrick<br />
CHOI Gyong Sop<br />
COOKE Alan<br />
DING Yi<br />
EL-MAHJUB Taher<br />
ELOI Damien<br />
FETZNER Steffen<br />
GATIEN Jean-Philippe<br />
GHORPADE Sujay<br />
GRUBBA Andrzej<br />
GRUJIC Slobodan<br />
HALDAN Paul<br />
HELMY Ashraf<br />
HOYAMA Hugo<br />
HYATT Michael<br />
JACKSON Peter<br />
JANCI Tomas<br />
KALINIC Zoran<br />
KANG Hee Chan<br />
KANO Claudio<br />
KIM Jin Myong<br />
KIM Song Hui<br />
KIM Taek Soo<br />
KORBEL Petr<br />
KUCHARSKI Leszek<br />
LEE Chul Seung<br />
LEGDALI Adel Hadi<br />
LI Gun Sang<br />
LINDH Erik<br />
LO Chuen Tsung<br />
LU Lin<br />
KSA<br />
IRI<br />
AUT<br />
SWE<br />
CUB<br />
IND<br />
NGR<br />
RSA<br />
NZL<br />
USA<br />
ESP<br />
FRA<br />
FRA<br />
PRK<br />
GBR<br />
AUT<br />
LBA<br />
FRA<br />
GER<br />
FRA<br />
IND<br />
POL<br />
YUG<br />
NED<br />
EGY<br />
BRA<br />
JAM<br />
NZL<br />
TCH<br />
YUG<br />
KOR<br />
BRA<br />
PRK<br />
PRK<br />
KOR<br />
TCH<br />
POL<br />
KOR<br />
MAR<br />
PRK<br />
SWE<br />
HKG<br />
CHN<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Silver medal<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
dnp<br />
Gold medal<br />
210<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
BARCELONA OLYMPIC GAMES 1992 - MEN<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
LUPULESKU Ilija<br />
MA Wenge<br />
MATSUSHITA Koji<br />
MAZUNOV Andrei<br />
MAZUNOV Dmitrij<br />
MEHTA Kamlesh<br />
MORALES Augus<strong>to</strong><br />
MUSA Atanda<br />
NAKAMURA Kinjiro<br />
NATHAN Walter<br />
NATHAN Yair<br />
NG Joe Gideon<br />
NUÑEZ Marcos<br />
OLALEYE Sule<br />
O’NEILL Sean<br />
PALES Jose Maria<br />
PERSSON Jörgen<br />
PREAN Carl<br />
PRIMORAC Zoran<br />
ROQUE Santiago<br />
ROSSKOPF Jörg<br />
SAIVE Jean-Michel<br />
SAIVE Philippe<br />
SHIBUTANI Hiroshi<br />
SKIERSKI Piotr<br />
SOLOPOV Igor<br />
STA Mourad<br />
SURBEK Dragutin<br />
SUSENO An<strong>to</strong>n<br />
SYED Matthew<br />
TORIOLA Segun<br />
VIMI Roland<br />
WALDNER Jan-Ove<br />
WANG Tao<br />
WATANABE Takehiro<br />
YOO Nam Kyu<br />
YU Shen<strong>to</strong>ng<br />
YUG<br />
CHN<br />
JPN<br />
EUN<br />
EUN<br />
IND<br />
CHI<br />
NGR<br />
JPN<br />
PER<br />
PER<br />
CAN<br />
CHI<br />
NGR<br />
USA<br />
ESP<br />
SWE<br />
GBR<br />
CRO<br />
CUB<br />
GER<br />
BEL<br />
BEL<br />
JPN<br />
POL<br />
EST<br />
TUN<br />
CRO<br />
INA<br />
GBR<br />
NGR<br />
TCH<br />
SWE<br />
CHN<br />
JPN<br />
KOR<br />
CHN<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Scratched<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Rd of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 211
Olympians<br />
BARCELONA OLYMPIC GAMES 1992 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
AL-HINDI Nadia<br />
AMANKWA Helen<br />
ARISI Alessia<br />
BADESCU Otilia<br />
BATORFI Csilla<br />
BEN AISSA Feyza<br />
BHUSHAN In Sook<br />
BOGOSLOV Maria<br />
CABRERA Maria<br />
CHAI Po Wa<br />
CHAN Suk Yuen<br />
CHAN Tan Lui<br />
CHEN ZIHE<br />
CHIU Barbara<br />
CIOSU Emilia<br />
COUBAT Emmanuelle<br />
DENG Yaping<br />
DIPOYANTI PRATIWI Rossi<br />
DOTI Monica<br />
ERLMAN Lotta<br />
FAZLIC Jasna<br />
FRELIH Polona<br />
GABAGLIO Alejandra<br />
GAO Jun<br />
GAUCHIA Gloria<br />
GEE Diana<br />
GODES Ana-Maria<br />
GONZALEZ Eliana<br />
GORDON Alison<br />
GUERGUELTCHEVA Daniela<br />
HOLT Andrea<br />
HONG Cha Ok<br />
HONG Soon Hwa<br />
HOOMAN Mirjam<br />
HOSHINO Mika<br />
HRACHOVA Marie<br />
HYUN Jung Hwa<br />
KAFFO Bose<br />
KIM HAE JA<br />
KIM Hye Yong<br />
KOSAKA Lyanne<br />
KWOK Catherine<br />
LEE Jung Im<br />
JOR<br />
GHA<br />
ITA<br />
ROM<br />
HUN<br />
TUN<br />
USA<br />
ROM<br />
ECU<br />
HKG<br />
HKG<br />
HKG<br />
CHN<br />
CAN<br />
ROM<br />
FRA<br />
CHN<br />
INA<br />
BRA<br />
SWE<br />
YUG<br />
SVN<br />
ARG<br />
CHN<br />
ESP<br />
USA<br />
ESP<br />
PER<br />
GBR<br />
BUL<br />
GBR<br />
KOR<br />
KOR<br />
NED<br />
JPN<br />
TCH<br />
KOR<br />
NGR<br />
ARG<br />
PRK<br />
BRA<br />
AUS<br />
KOR<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
212<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
BARCELONA OLYMPIC GAMES 1992 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
Olympians<br />
LI Bun Hui<br />
LI Chunli<br />
LOMAS Lisa<br />
MATSUMOTO Yukino<br />
MELNIK Galina<br />
MESHREF Nihal<br />
MIHOCKOVA Jaroslava<br />
MINANGMOJO Ling Ling<br />
MUSOKE Mary<br />
NASTASE Adriana<br />
NEMES Olga<br />
OBREGON Magaly<br />
ODUMOSU Abiola<br />
OPOKUAH Patience<br />
PALINA Irina<br />
PERKUCIN Gordana<br />
POPOVA Valentina<br />
QIAO Hong<br />
RAMIREZ Maricel<br />
ROBERTS Cheryl<br />
RODRIGUEZ Yolanda<br />
SATO Rika<br />
SCHALL Elke<br />
SHAH Niyati<br />
STRUSE Nicole<br />
SVENSSON Marie<br />
TEPES Sofija<br />
TEPPER Kerri<br />
TIMINA Elena<br />
TOUATI Sonia<br />
VRIESEKOOP Bettine<br />
WANG Xiaoming<br />
WI Bok Sun<br />
YAMASHITA Fumiyo<br />
YIP Lily<br />
YU Sun Bok<br />
PRK<br />
NZL<br />
GBR<br />
JPN<br />
EUN<br />
EGY<br />
TCH<br />
INA<br />
UGA<br />
ROM<br />
GER<br />
PER<br />
NGR<br />
GHA<br />
EUN<br />
YUG<br />
EUN<br />
CHN<br />
CUB<br />
RSA<br />
CUB<br />
JPN<br />
GER<br />
IND<br />
GER<br />
SWE<br />
CHI<br />
AUS<br />
EUN<br />
TUN<br />
NED<br />
FRA<br />
PRK<br />
JPN<br />
USA<br />
PRK<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 213
ATLANTA OLYMPIC GAMES 1996 - MEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
ADDY Winfried<br />
AL-HABASHI Dukhail<br />
AL-HAMMADI Hamad<br />
ATIKOVIC Damir<br />
BABOOR Chetan<br />
BATORFI Zoltan<br />
BLASZCZYK Lucjan<br />
BUTLER James<br />
CHAN Kong Wah<br />
CHEN Xinhua<br />
CHIANG Peng-Lung<br />
CHILA Patrick<br />
CHOI Gyong Sop<br />
CHTCHETININE Evgueni<br />
DING Yi<br />
ELOI Damien<br />
FETZNER Steffen<br />
FLOREA Vasile<br />
FRANZ Peter<br />
GATIEN Jean-Philippe<br />
GRUBBA Andrzej<br />
GRUJIC Slobodan<br />
HEISTER Danny<br />
HODZIC Tarik<br />
HOYAMA Hugo<br />
HUANG Johnny<br />
HYATT Michael<br />
HYLTON Stephen<br />
JINDRAK Karl<br />
KANG Hee Chan<br />
KARAKASEVIC Aleksandar<br />
KARLSSON Peter<br />
KEEN Trinko<br />
KIM Song Hui<br />
KIM Taek Soo<br />
KONG Linghui<br />
KORBEL Petr<br />
KREANGA Kalinikos<br />
LANGLEY Paul<br />
LAVALE Russell<br />
LEE Chul Seung<br />
LEGOUT Chris<strong>to</strong>phe<br />
LI Gun Sang<br />
GHA<br />
KUW<br />
QAT<br />
CRO<br />
IND<br />
HUN<br />
POL<br />
USA<br />
HKG<br />
GBR<br />
TPE<br />
FRA<br />
PRK<br />
BLR<br />
AUT<br />
FRA<br />
GER<br />
ROM<br />
GER<br />
FRA<br />
POL<br />
YUG<br />
NED<br />
BIH<br />
BRA<br />
CAN<br />
JAM<br />
JAM<br />
AUT<br />
KOR<br />
YUG<br />
SWE<br />
NED<br />
PRK<br />
KOR<br />
CHN<br />
CZE<br />
GRE<br />
AUS<br />
AUS<br />
KOR<br />
FRA<br />
PRK<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 16<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
4th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
214<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
ATLANTA OLYMPIC GAMES 1996 - MEN<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
LIU Guoliang<br />
LO Chuen Tsung<br />
LU Lin<br />
LUPULESKU Ilija<br />
MATSUSHITA Koji<br />
MAZUNOV Andrei<br />
MAZUNOV Dmitrij<br />
MORALES Augus<strong>to</strong><br />
MUÑOZ Guillermo<br />
MUTAMBUZE Paul<br />
NEMETH Karoly<br />
NG Joe Gideon<br />
OLALEYE Sule<br />
OPOKU Isaac<br />
OSAMA Ahmed<br />
PEIXOTO Giuliano<br />
PERSSON Jörgen<br />
PLACHY Josef<br />
PREAN Carl<br />
PRIMORAC Zoran<br />
QIAN Qianli<br />
ROSSKOPF Jörg<br />
SAIVE Jean-Michel<br />
SAIVE Philippe<br />
SALAMANCA Juan<br />
SAMSONOV Vladimir<br />
SCHLAGER Werner<br />
SHIBUTANI Hiroshi<br />
SMYTHE Mark<br />
ST LOUIS Dexter<br />
SUSENO An<strong>to</strong>n<br />
SWEERIS Todd<br />
TASAKI Toshio<br />
TORIOLA Segun<br />
TSIOKAS Ntaniel<br />
VON SCHEELE Thomas<br />
WALDNER Jan-Ove<br />
WANG Tao<br />
WU Wen-Chia<br />
YOO Nam Kyu<br />
YUZAWA Ryo<br />
ZHUANG David<br />
CHN<br />
HKG<br />
CHN<br />
YUG<br />
JPN<br />
RUS<br />
RUS<br />
CHI<br />
MEX<br />
UGA<br />
HUN<br />
CAN<br />
NGR<br />
GHA<br />
SUD<br />
BRA<br />
SWE<br />
CZE<br />
GBR<br />
CRO<br />
AUT<br />
GER<br />
BEL<br />
BEL<br />
CHI<br />
BLR<br />
AUT<br />
JPN<br />
AUS<br />
TRI<br />
INA<br />
USA<br />
JPN<br />
NGR<br />
GRE<br />
SWE<br />
SWE<br />
CHN<br />
TPE<br />
KOR<br />
JPN<br />
USA<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 215
ATLANTA OLYMPIC GAMES 1996 - WOMEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
ABBATE-BULATOVA Fliura<br />
AGANOVIC Eldijana<br />
ALEJO Blanca<br />
ARISI Alessia<br />
BADESCU Otilia<br />
BAI Huei-Yin<br />
BATORFI Csilla<br />
BOROS Tamara<br />
CADA Petra<br />
CHAI Po Wa<br />
CHAN Tan Lui<br />
CHEN Chiu-Tan<br />
CHEN Jing<br />
CHIU Barbara<br />
CHOUAIB Larissa<br />
CIOSU Emilia<br />
COJOCARU Georgeta<br />
COUBAT Emmanuelle<br />
DENG Yaping<br />
DIPOYANTI PRATIWI Rossy<br />
DOBESOVA Jana<br />
DOTI Monica<br />
FENG Amy<br />
GARKAUSKAITE Ruta<br />
GENG Lijuan<br />
GONZALEZ Eliana<br />
GORRITTI Milagros<br />
HOLT Andrea<br />
HOOMAN Mirjam<br />
JING Jun Hong<br />
KAFFO Bose Olateju<br />
KAIZU Fumiyo<br />
KEEN Gerdie<br />
KIM Hyang Mi<br />
KIM Hyon Hui<br />
KIM Moo Kyo<br />
KOSAKA Lyanne<br />
KOYAMA Chire<br />
KYAKOBYE June<br />
LI Chunli<br />
LIU Wei<br />
LOMAS Lisa<br />
MUSOKE Mary<br />
ITA<br />
CRO<br />
DOM<br />
ITA<br />
ROM<br />
TPE<br />
HUN<br />
CRO<br />
CAN<br />
HKG<br />
HKG<br />
TPE<br />
TPE<br />
CAN<br />
LIB<br />
ROM<br />
ROM<br />
FRA<br />
CHN<br />
INA<br />
CZE<br />
BRA<br />
USA<br />
LTU<br />
CAN<br />
PER<br />
PER<br />
GBR<br />
NED<br />
SIN<br />
NGR<br />
JPN<br />
NED<br />
PRK<br />
PRK<br />
KOR<br />
BRA<br />
JPN<br />
UGA<br />
NZL<br />
CHN<br />
GBR<br />
UGA<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
216<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
ATLANTA OLYMPIC GAMES 1996 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
NEGRISOLI Laura<br />
NEMES Olga<br />
NOOR Emily<br />
OKENLA Kehinde<br />
OSHONAIKE Olufunke<br />
OWOH Atisi<br />
PALINA Irina<br />
PARK Hae Jung<br />
PARK Kyung Ae<br />
PETTERSSON Pernilla<br />
POPOVA Valentina<br />
QIAO Hong<br />
QIAO Yunping<br />
RADHIKA Ambika<br />
RAMOS Fabiola<br />
RODRIGUEZ Berta<br />
RYU Ji Hae<br />
SATO Rika<br />
SCHALL Elke<br />
SCHÖPP Jie<br />
SIMION Adriana<br />
SON Mi Suk<br />
STESHENKO Aida<br />
STRUSE Nicole<br />
SVENSSON Åsa<br />
SVENSSON Marie<br />
TEPES Sofija<br />
TIMINA Elena<br />
TODO Taeko<br />
TOTH Krisztina<br />
TOUATI Sonia<br />
TU Jong Sil<br />
TU Yong<br />
VRIESEKOOP Bettine<br />
WANG Wei<br />
WANG-DRECHOU Xiaoming<br />
XU Jing<br />
YIP Lily<br />
ZHOU Shirley<br />
ZHOU Stella<br />
ITA<br />
GER<br />
NED<br />
NGR<br />
NGR<br />
NGR<br />
RUS<br />
KOR<br />
KOR<br />
SWE<br />
SVK<br />
CHN<br />
CHN<br />
IND<br />
VEN<br />
CHI<br />
KOR<br />
JPN<br />
GER<br />
GER<br />
ROM<br />
PRK<br />
TKM<br />
GER<br />
SWE<br />
SWE<br />
CHI<br />
RUS<br />
JPN<br />
HUN<br />
TUN<br />
PRK<br />
SUI<br />
NED<br />
USA<br />
FRA<br />
TPE<br />
USA<br />
AUS<br />
AUS<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Scratched<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Scratched<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Scratched<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Bronze medal<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Gold medal<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 217
SYDNEY OLYMPIC GAMES 2000 - MEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
AL-HAMMADI Hamad<br />
ARADO Francisco<br />
ARADO Ruben<br />
BABOOR Chetan<br />
BLASZCZYK Lucjan<br />
BOLL Timo<br />
CHANG Yen-Shu<br />
CHENG Yinghua<br />
CHEUNG Yuk<br />
CHIANG Peng-Lung<br />
CHILA Patrick<br />
CHTCHETININE Evgueni<br />
CLARKE Brett<br />
CRISAN Adrian<br />
DING Yi<br />
EHTESHAMZADEH Majid Reza<br />
ELOI Damien<br />
FRANZ Peter<br />
GAMBRA Jorge<br />
GATIEN Jean-Philippe<br />
GERADA Simon<br />
GRUJIC Slobodan<br />
HÅKANSSON Fredrik<br />
HAMAM Gdara<br />
HARINTO Ismu<br />
HEISTER Danny<br />
HELMY Ashraf<br />
HOYAMA Hugo<br />
HUANG Johnny<br />
ISEKI Seiko<br />
JACKSON Peter<br />
JINDRAK Karl<br />
KACI David<br />
KARLSSON Peter<br />
KAWAI Carlos<br />
KEEN Trinko<br />
KIM Taek Soo<br />
KONG Linghui<br />
KORBEL Petr<br />
KREANGA Kalinikos<br />
KRZESZEWSKI Tomasz<br />
LASHIN El-Sayed<br />
LAVALE Russell<br />
QAT<br />
CUB<br />
CUB<br />
IND<br />
POL<br />
GER<br />
TPE<br />
USA<br />
HKG<br />
TPE<br />
FRA<br />
BLR<br />
AUS<br />
ROM<br />
AUT<br />
IRI<br />
FRA<br />
GER<br />
CHI<br />
FRA<br />
AUS<br />
YUG<br />
SWE<br />
TUN<br />
INA<br />
NED<br />
EGY<br />
BRA<br />
CAN<br />
JPN<br />
NZL<br />
AUT<br />
ALG<br />
SWE<br />
BRA<br />
NED<br />
KOR<br />
CHN<br />
CZE<br />
GRE<br />
POL<br />
EGY<br />
AUS<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Gold medal<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
218<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
SYDNEY OLYMPIC GAMES 2000 - MEN<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
LEE Chul Seung<br />
LEGOUT Chris<strong>to</strong>phe<br />
LEUNG Chu Yan<br />
LIU Guoliang<br />
LIU Guozheng<br />
LIU Kurt<br />
LIU SONG<br />
LUPULESKU Ilija<br />
MATSUSHITA Koji<br />
MAZE Michael<br />
MORALES Augus<strong>to</strong><br />
NGUYEN KHOA Dinh<br />
NOSIRU Kazeem<br />
OH SANG Eun<br />
OULAMI Farid<br />
PERSSON Jörgen<br />
PLACHY Josef<br />
PLUMB Jeffrey<br />
PRIMORAC Zoran<br />
RAMAN Subramanian<br />
ROSSKOPF Jörg<br />
RYU Seung Min<br />
SAHAJASSEIN Jean-Patrick<br />
SAIVE Jean-Michel<br />
SAIVE Philippe<br />
SAMSONOV Vladimir<br />
SCHLAGER Werner<br />
SHIBUTANI Hiroshi<br />
SMYTHE Mark<br />
SOSA Reinier<br />
SUSENO An<strong>to</strong>n<br />
SWEERIS Todd<br />
SYED Matthew<br />
TABACHNIK Pablo<br />
TASAKI Toshio<br />
TORIOLA Segun<br />
TSIOKAS Ntaniel<br />
TUGWELL Finn<br />
WALDNER Jan-Ove<br />
WANG Liqin<br />
YAN Sen<br />
ZHUANG David<br />
KOR<br />
FRA<br />
HKG<br />
CHN<br />
CHN<br />
CAN<br />
ARG<br />
YUG<br />
JPN<br />
DEN<br />
CHI<br />
USA<br />
NGR<br />
KOR<br />
ALG<br />
SWE<br />
CZE<br />
AUS<br />
CRO<br />
IND<br />
GER<br />
KOR<br />
MRI<br />
BEL<br />
BEL<br />
BLR<br />
AUT<br />
JPN<br />
AUS<br />
CUB<br />
INA<br />
USA<br />
GBR<br />
ARG<br />
JPN<br />
NGR<br />
GRE<br />
DEN<br />
SWE<br />
CHN<br />
CHN<br />
USA<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Rd of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Gold medal<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st stage<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 219
SYDNEY OLYMPIC GAMES 2000 - WOMEN<br />
Olympians<br />
NOC<br />
Name WS WD<br />
ABDUL-AZIZ Shaimaa<br />
AGANOVIC Eldijana<br />
AL-NAGAR Tatiana<br />
BADESCU Otilia<br />
BAKULA Andrea<br />
BANH Tawny<br />
BATORFI Csilla<br />
BOILEAU Anne<br />
BOROS Tamara<br />
CHEN Jing<br />
DO Michelle<br />
EL-ALFY Shahira<br />
FUJINUMA Ai<br />
GAO Jun<br />
GARKAUSKAITE Ruta<br />
GENG Lijuan<br />
GHATAK Poulomi<br />
GOTSCH Qianhong<br />
HERCZIG Judit<br />
JING Jun Hong<br />
KAFFO Bose<br />
KIM Moo Kyo<br />
KOMWONG Nanthana<br />
KONISHI An<br />
KOSTROMINA Tatsiana<br />
KOVTUN Elena<br />
KOYAMA Chire<br />
KUSCH Oxana<br />
LAY Jian Fang<br />
LEE Eun Sil<br />
LI Chunli<br />
LI Jiawei<br />
LI Ju<br />
LI Karen<br />
LIU Jia<br />
MELNIK Galina<br />
MIAO Miao<br />
MOLNAR Zita<br />
MOREL Silvia<br />
MUSOKE Mary<br />
NAITO Kazuko<br />
NI Xia Lian<br />
OKENLA Kehinde<br />
EGY<br />
CRO<br />
JOR<br />
ROU<br />
CRO<br />
USA<br />
HUN<br />
FRA<br />
CRO<br />
TPE<br />
USA<br />
EGY<br />
JPN<br />
USA<br />
LTU<br />
CAN<br />
IND<br />
GER<br />
AUT<br />
SIN<br />
NGR<br />
KOR<br />
THA<br />
JPN<br />
BLR<br />
UKR<br />
JPN<br />
RUS<br />
AUS<br />
KOR<br />
NZL<br />
SIN<br />
CHN<br />
NZL<br />
AUT<br />
RUS<br />
AUS<br />
HUN<br />
CHI<br />
UGA<br />
JPN<br />
LUX<br />
NGR<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
4th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
220<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
SYDNEY OLYMPIC GAMES 2000 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
OSHONAIKE Olufunke<br />
OSMAN Bacent<br />
OWOH Atisi<br />
PALINA Irina<br />
PAVLOVICH Veronika<br />
PAVLOVICH Vik<strong>to</strong>ria<br />
PEREZ Luisana<br />
PRUSIENE Jolanta<br />
RAMIREZ Maricel<br />
RAMOS Fabiola<br />
REED Jasna<br />
REGENWETTER Peggy<br />
RODRIGUEZ Berta<br />
ROUSSY Marie-Christine<br />
RYU Ji Hae<br />
SAKATA Rinko<br />
SCHALL Elke<br />
SCHÖPP Jie<br />
SILVA Ligia<br />
SONG Ah Sim<br />
STEFF Mihaela<br />
STESHENKO Aida<br />
STRUSE Nicole<br />
SUAREZ Leticia<br />
SUK Eun Mi<br />
SUN Jin<br />
SVENSSON Åsa<br />
SVENSSON Marie<br />
TEPES Sofija<br />
TIAN-ZORNER Jing<br />
TONG Feiming<br />
TOTH Krisztina<br />
TSUI Hsui-Li<br />
WANG Nan<br />
WANG Wenxiao<br />
WONG Ching<br />
XU Chris<br />
XU Jing<br />
YANG Ying<br />
YU Feng-Yin<br />
ZHOU Shirley<br />
ZHOU Stella<br />
NGR<br />
EGY<br />
NGR<br />
RUS<br />
BLR<br />
BLR<br />
VEN<br />
LTU<br />
CUB<br />
VEN<br />
USA<br />
LUX<br />
CHI<br />
CAN<br />
KOR<br />
JPN<br />
GER<br />
GER<br />
BRA<br />
HKG<br />
ROU<br />
TKM<br />
GER<br />
CUB<br />
KOR<br />
CHN<br />
SWE<br />
SWE<br />
CHI<br />
GER<br />
TPE<br />
HUN<br />
TPE<br />
CHN<br />
CAN<br />
HKG<br />
CAN<br />
TPE<br />
CHN<br />
TPE<br />
AUS<br />
AUS<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
4th place<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Gold medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Silver medal<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Lost 1st round<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 221
ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES 2004 - MEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
ACHANTA Sharath Kamal<br />
AKHLAGHPASAND Mohammadreza<br />
AKINLABI Peter<br />
AL-HARBI Khaled<br />
ARAI Shu<br />
BABUNGU Bomboko Momo<br />
BLASZCZYK Lucjan<br />
BOLL Timo<br />
BOUDJADJA Mohamed Sofiene<br />
BROWN Trevor<br />
CHEN Qi<br />
CHEN Weixing<br />
CHEUNG Yuk<br />
CHIANG Peng-Lung<br />
CHILA Patrick<br />
CHUANG Chih-Yuan<br />
CRISAN Adrian<br />
DJAZIRI Abdelhakim<br />
DOAN Kien Quoc<br />
FEJER-KONNERTH Zoltan<br />
GIONIS Panagiotis<br />
GONZALES Oscar Enrique<br />
GRUJIC Slobodan<br />
GUEYE Mohamed<br />
HANASHIRO Hugo<br />
HAZINSKI Mark<br />
HE Zhiwen<br />
HEISTER Danny<br />
HENZELL William<br />
HIELSCHER Lars<br />
HOYAMA Hugo<br />
HUANG Johnny<br />
JINDRAK Karl<br />
JOO Se Hyuk<br />
KARAKASEVIC Aleksandar<br />
KARLSSON Peter<br />
KASSAM Faazil<br />
KEEN Trinko<br />
KITO Akira<br />
KO Lai Chak<br />
KONG Linghui<br />
KORBEL Petr<br />
KREANGA Kalinikos<br />
IND<br />
IRI<br />
NGR<br />
KSA<br />
JPN<br />
COD<br />
POL<br />
GER<br />
ALG<br />
AUS<br />
CHN<br />
AUT<br />
HKG<br />
TPE<br />
FRA<br />
TPE<br />
ROM<br />
ALG<br />
VIE<br />
GER<br />
GRE<br />
ARG<br />
SRB<br />
SEN<br />
BRA<br />
USA<br />
ESP<br />
NED<br />
AUS<br />
GER<br />
BRA<br />
CAN<br />
AUT<br />
KOR<br />
SRB<br />
SWE<br />
CAN<br />
NED<br />
JPN<br />
HKG<br />
CHN<br />
CZE<br />
GRE<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Gold medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
222<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES 2004 - MEN<br />
Name NOC MS MD<br />
KRZESZEWSKI Tomasz<br />
LAVALE Russell<br />
LEE Chul Seung<br />
LEUNG Chu Yan<br />
LI Ching<br />
LIN Ju<br />
LIU Song<br />
LUPULESKU Ilija<br />
LUYINDULA Jose<br />
MA Lin<br />
MATSUSHITA Koji<br />
MAZE Michael<br />
MAZUNOV Dmitrij<br />
MEROTOHUN Monday<br />
MILICEVIC Srdan<br />
MONDELLO Massimiliano<br />
MONTEIRO Thiago Farias Monte<br />
NGUYEN Khoa Dinh<br />
NOSIRU EKUNDAYO Kazeem<br />
O Il<br />
OH Sang Eun<br />
PAPIC VILCA Juan<br />
PERSSON Jorgen<br />
PRIMORAC Zoran<br />
RODRIGUEZ Alejandro<br />
ROSSKOPF Jorg<br />
RYU Seung Min<br />
SAIVE Jean-Michel<br />
SAMSONOV Vladimir<br />
SCHLAGER Werner<br />
SMIRNOV Alexey<br />
TABACHNIK Pablo Ariel<br />
TASAKI Toshio<br />
TORIOLA Segun Moses<br />
TUGWELL Finn<br />
VYBORNY Richard<br />
WALDNER Jan-Ove<br />
WANG Hao<br />
WANG Liqin<br />
WOSIK Torben<br />
YANG Min<br />
YUZAWA Ryo<br />
ZALCBERG David<br />
POL<br />
AUS<br />
KOR<br />
HKG<br />
HKG<br />
DOM<br />
ARG<br />
USA<br />
COD<br />
CHN<br />
JPN<br />
DEN<br />
RUS<br />
NGR<br />
BIH<br />
ITA<br />
BRA<br />
USA<br />
NGR<br />
PRK<br />
KOR<br />
CHI<br />
SWE<br />
CRO<br />
CHI<br />
GER<br />
KOR<br />
BEL<br />
BLR<br />
AUT<br />
RUS<br />
ARG<br />
JPN<br />
NGR<br />
DEN<br />
CZE<br />
SWE<br />
CHN<br />
CHN<br />
GER<br />
ITA<br />
JPN<br />
AUS<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Gold medal<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of128<br />
Round of 64<br />
4th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Gold medal<br />
Bronze medal<br />
4th place<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 16<br />
4th place<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 223
ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES 2004 - WOMEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
BADESCU Otilia<br />
BANH Tawny<br />
BATORFI Csilla<br />
BEN KAHIA Nesrine<br />
BOROS Tamara<br />
BOUCETTA Leila<br />
CADA Petra<br />
DAS Mouma<br />
EDEM Offiong<br />
ERDELJI Silvija<br />
ESPINEIRA Marisol<br />
FADEEVA Oxana<br />
FAZEKAS Maria<br />
FUJINUMA Ai<br />
FUKUHARA Ai<br />
GANINA Svetlana<br />
GAO Jun<br />
GUENNI Olfa<br />
GUO Yue<br />
HUANG Yi-Hua<br />
INOYATOVA Manzura<br />
JING Jun Hong<br />
KAFFO Bose<br />
KIM Bok Rae<br />
KIM Hyang Mi<br />
KIM Hyon Hui<br />
KIM Kyung Ah<br />
KIM Yun Mi<br />
KOMWONG Nanthana<br />
KOSTROMINA Tatsiana<br />
KRAVCHENKO Marina<br />
LAU Sui Fei<br />
LAY Jian Fang<br />
LEE Eun Sil<br />
LI Chunli<br />
LI Jiawei<br />
LI Karen Jinli<br />
LIN Ling<br />
LIU Jia<br />
LOGATZKAYA Tatyana<br />
LU Yun-Feng<br />
MEDINA Iizzwah<br />
MELNIK Galina<br />
ROU<br />
USA<br />
HUN<br />
TUN<br />
CRO<br />
ALG<br />
CAN<br />
IND<br />
NGR<br />
SRB<br />
PER<br />
RUS<br />
HUN<br />
JPN<br />
JPN<br />
RUS<br />
USA<br />
TUN<br />
CHN<br />
TPE<br />
UZB<br />
SIN<br />
NGR<br />
KOR<br />
PRK<br />
PRK<br />
KOR<br />
PRK<br />
THA<br />
BLR<br />
ISR<br />
HKG<br />
AUS<br />
KOR<br />
NZL<br />
SIN<br />
NZL<br />
HKG<br />
AUT<br />
BLR<br />
TPE<br />
HON<br />
RUS<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
4th place<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
4th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
4th place<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
224<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES 2004 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WD<br />
MENAIFI Asma<br />
MIAO Miao<br />
MIROU Maria<br />
NECHAB Souad<br />
NEGRISOLI Laura<br />
NIU Jianfeng<br />
NONAKA Mariany<br />
OFFIONG Cecilia Otu<br />
OSHONAIKE Olufunke<br />
PALINA Irina<br />
PAVLOVICH Veronika<br />
PAVLOVICH Vik<strong>to</strong>ria<br />
PEREZ Luisana<br />
PING Whitney<br />
RAMOS Fabiola<br />
REED Jasna<br />
RODRIGUEZ Berta<br />
ROUSSY Marie-Christine<br />
SCHALL Elke<br />
SCHÖPP Jie<br />
SHABAN Zeina<br />
SILVA Ligia<br />
SONG Ah Sim<br />
STEFANOVA Nikoleta<br />
STEFF Mihaela<br />
STRBIKOVA Renata<br />
STRUSE Nicole<br />
SUK Eun Mi<br />
TAN MONFARDINI Wenling<br />
TAN Paey Fern<br />
TIE Yana<br />
TOTH Krisztina<br />
UMEMURA Aya<br />
VACHOVCOVA Alena<br />
VAIDA Cornelia<br />
VEGA Maria Paulina<br />
VOLAKAKI Archodoula<br />
WANG Nan<br />
WU Xue<br />
YOON Ji Hye<br />
ZAMFIR Adriana<br />
ZHANG Xueling<br />
ZHANG Yining<br />
ALG<br />
AUS<br />
GRE<br />
ALG<br />
ITA<br />
CHN<br />
BRA<br />
NGR<br />
NGR<br />
RUS<br />
BLR<br />
BLR<br />
VEN<br />
USA<br />
VEN<br />
USA<br />
CHI<br />
CAN<br />
GER<br />
GER<br />
JOR<br />
BRA<br />
HKG<br />
ITA<br />
ROU<br />
CZE<br />
GER<br />
KOR<br />
ITA<br />
SIN<br />
HKG<br />
HUN<br />
JPN<br />
CZE<br />
CRO<br />
CHI<br />
GRE<br />
CHN<br />
DOM<br />
KOR<br />
ROU<br />
SIN<br />
CHN<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Gold medal<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 16<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 64<br />
Gold medal<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Gold medal<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 225
Olympians<br />
BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 - MEN<br />
Name NOC<br />
MS MT<br />
ACHANTA Sharath Kamal<br />
AGUIRRE Marcelo<br />
AL-HASAN Ibrahem<br />
ALI SALEH Ahmed<br />
APOLONIA Tiago<br />
BLASZCZYK Lucjan<br />
BOBOCICA Mihai<br />
BOLL Timo<br />
CAI Xiaoli<br />
CARNEROS Alfredo<br />
CHANG Yen-Shu<br />
CHEN Weixing<br />
CHEUNG Yuk<br />
CHIANG Peng-Lung<br />
CHILA Patrick<br />
CHUANG Chih-Yuan<br />
CRISAN Adrian<br />
DAVIS Kyle<br />
DOAN Kien Quoc<br />
ELOI Damien<br />
FREITAS Marcos<br />
GACINA Andrej<br />
GAO Ning<br />
GARDOS Robert<br />
GERELL Pär<br />
GIONIS Panagiotis<br />
HE Zhiwen<br />
HENZELL William<br />
HOYAMA Hugo<br />
JAKAB Janos<br />
JANG Song Man<br />
KAN Yo<br />
KARAKASEVIC Aleksandar<br />
KHOURTA Idir<br />
KIM Hyok Bong<br />
KISHIKAWA Seiya<br />
KO Lai Chak<br />
KORBEL Petr<br />
KOU Lei<br />
KREANGA Kalinikos<br />
KUZMIN Fedor<br />
LASHIN El-Sayed<br />
LEGOUT Chris<strong>to</strong>phe<br />
IND<br />
PAR<br />
KUW<br />
EGY<br />
POR<br />
POL<br />
ITA<br />
GER<br />
SIN<br />
ESP<br />
TPE<br />
AUT<br />
HKG<br />
TPE<br />
FRA<br />
TPE<br />
ROU<br />
AUS<br />
VIE<br />
FRA<br />
POR<br />
CRO<br />
SIN<br />
AUT<br />
SWE<br />
GRE<br />
ESP<br />
AUS<br />
BRA<br />
HUN<br />
PRK<br />
JPN<br />
SRB<br />
ALG<br />
PRK<br />
JPN<br />
HKG<br />
CZE<br />
UKR<br />
GRE<br />
RUS<br />
EGY<br />
FRA<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Silver medal<br />
9th place<br />
7th place<br />
4th place<br />
5th place<br />
7th place<br />
7th place<br />
13th place<br />
7th place<br />
9th place<br />
4th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
13th place<br />
13th place<br />
5th place<br />
5th place<br />
5th place<br />
9th place<br />
13th place<br />
226<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 - MEN<br />
Name NOC MS MT<br />
LI Ching<br />
LIN Ju<br />
LIU Song<br />
LUNDQVIST Jens<br />
MA Lin<br />
MASSAAD Adel<br />
MAZE Michael<br />
MAZUNOV Dmitrij<br />
MEROTOHUN Monday<br />
MIZUTANI Jun<br />
MONTEIRO João<br />
MONTEIRO Thiago<br />
NOROOZI Afshin<br />
NOSIRU Kazeem<br />
OH Sang Eun<br />
OVTCHAROV Dimitrij<br />
PERSSON Jörgen<br />
PETER-PAUL Pradeeban<br />
PRIMORAC Zoran<br />
RI Chol Guk<br />
RYU Seung Min<br />
SAIVE Jean-Michel<br />
SAKA Suraju<br />
SAMSONOV Vladimir<br />
SCHLAGER Werner<br />
SHEN Qiang<br />
SMIRNOV Alexey<br />
ST LOUIS Dexter<br />
SÜSS Christian<br />
TABACHNIK Pablo<br />
TAN Ruiwu<br />
TOKIC Bojan<br />
TORIOLA Segun<br />
TSIOKAS Ntaniel<br />
TSUBOI Gustavo<br />
WANG Hao<br />
WANG Liqin<br />
YANG Zi<br />
YOON Jae Young<br />
ZALCBERG David<br />
ZENG Cem<br />
ZHANG Wilson<br />
ZHUANG David<br />
HKG<br />
DOM<br />
ARG<br />
SWE<br />
CHN<br />
EGY<br />
DEN<br />
RUS<br />
NGR<br />
JPN<br />
POR<br />
BRA<br />
IRI<br />
NGR<br />
KOR<br />
GER<br />
SWE<br />
CAN<br />
CRO<br />
PRK<br />
KOR<br />
BEL<br />
CGO<br />
BLR<br />
AUT<br />
CAN<br />
RUS<br />
TRI<br />
GER<br />
ARG<br />
CRO<br />
SVN<br />
NGR<br />
GRE<br />
BRA<br />
CHN<br />
CHN<br />
SIN<br />
KOR<br />
AUS<br />
TUR<br />
CAN<br />
USA<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Gold medal<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 16<br />
4th place<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Silver medal<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
5th place<br />
9th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
13th place<br />
9th place<br />
5th place<br />
13th place<br />
9th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Silver medal<br />
9th place<br />
13th place<br />
7th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
4th place<br />
13th place<br />
13th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
7th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
13th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
Gold medal<br />
9th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
13th place<br />
13th place<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 227
BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 - WOMEN<br />
Olympians<br />
Name NOC WS WT<br />
ABDUL-AZIZ Shaimaa<br />
AGGARWAL Neha<br />
BAKULA Andrea<br />
BARTHEL Zhenqi<br />
BOROS Tamara<br />
DANG Ye Seo<br />
DODEAN Daniela<br />
DVORAK Galia<br />
FADEEVA Oxana<br />
FENG Tianwei<br />
FOMUM Vic<strong>to</strong>rine<br />
FUKUHARA Ai<br />
FUKUOKA Haruna<br />
GANINA Svetlana<br />
GAO Jun<br />
GUO Yue<br />
HADACOVA Dana<br />
HEINE Veronika<br />
HIRANO Sayaka<br />
HU Melek<br />
HUANG Crystal<br />
HUANG Yi-Hua<br />
KAFFO Bose<br />
KIM Jong<br />
KIM Kyung Ah<br />
KIM Mi Yong<br />
KOMWONG Nanthana<br />
KOSTROMINA Tatsiana<br />
KOTIKHINA Irina<br />
LAU Sui Fei<br />
LAY Jian Fang<br />
LI Jiao<br />
LI Jiawei<br />
LI Jie<br />
LI Qian<br />
LI Qiangbing<br />
LIAN Qian<br />
LIN Ling<br />
LIU Jia<br />
LONG Judy<br />
LOVAS Petra<br />
MEDINA Paula<br />
MIAO Miao<br />
EGY<br />
IND<br />
CRO<br />
GER<br />
CRO<br />
KOR<br />
ROU<br />
ESP<br />
RUS<br />
SIN<br />
CMR<br />
JPN<br />
JPN<br />
RUS<br />
USA<br />
CHN<br />
CZE<br />
AUT<br />
JPN<br />
TUR<br />
USA<br />
TPE<br />
NGR<br />
PRK<br />
KOR<br />
PRK<br />
THA<br />
BLR<br />
RUS<br />
HKG<br />
AUS<br />
NED<br />
SIN<br />
NED<br />
POL<br />
AUT<br />
DOM<br />
HKG<br />
AUT<br />
CAN<br />
HUN<br />
COL<br />
AUS<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Scratched<br />
Round of 16<br />
Bronze medal<br />
Rd of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 32<br />
Rd of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 16<br />
4th place<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Rd of 128<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 64<br />
9th place<br />
13th place<br />
9th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
7th place<br />
9th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
4th place<br />
4th place<br />
5th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
7th place<br />
4th place<br />
5th place<br />
13th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
5th place<br />
13th place<br />
9th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
7th place<br />
13th place<br />
5th place<br />
7th place<br />
13th place<br />
228<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 - WOMEN<br />
Name NOC WS WT<br />
NECULA Iulia<br />
NI Xia Lian<br />
NONAKA Mariany<br />
ODOROVA Eva<br />
OFFIONG Cecilia<br />
OSHONAIKE Olufunke<br />
PAN Li-Chun<br />
PAOVIC Sandra<br />
PARK Mi Young<br />
PARTYKA Natalia<br />
PASKAUSKIENE Ruta<br />
PAVLOVICH Veronika<br />
PAVLOVICH Vik<strong>to</strong>ria<br />
PESOTSKA Margaryta<br />
POTA Georgina<br />
RAMOS Fabiola<br />
SAMARA Elizabeta<br />
SANG Stephanie Xu<br />
SCHALL Elke<br />
SHABAN Zeina<br />
SHEN Yanfei<br />
SHUMAKOVA Marina<br />
SILVA Yadira<br />
SOROCHYNSKA Tetyana<br />
STEFANOVA Nikoleta<br />
TAN MONFARDINI Wenling<br />
TIE Yana<br />
TIMINA Elena<br />
TOMMY Priscila<br />
TOTH Krisztina<br />
VALDEZ Johenny<br />
WANG Chen<br />
WANG Nan<br />
WANG Yuegu<br />
WU Jiaduo<br />
WU Xue<br />
XIAN Yi Fang<br />
XU Jie<br />
YANG Fen<br />
YOUSRY Noha Mohamed<br />
ZHANG Mo<br />
ZHANG Yining<br />
ZHU Fang<br />
ROU<br />
LUX<br />
BRA<br />
SVK<br />
NGR<br />
NGR<br />
TPE<br />
CRO<br />
KOR<br />
POL<br />
LTU<br />
BLR<br />
BLR<br />
UKR<br />
HUN<br />
VEN<br />
ROU<br />
AUS<br />
GER<br />
JOR<br />
ESP<br />
KAZ<br />
MEX<br />
UKR<br />
ITA<br />
ITA<br />
HKG<br />
NED<br />
VAN<br />
HUN<br />
DOM<br />
USA<br />
CHN<br />
SIN<br />
GER<br />
DOM<br />
FRA<br />
POL<br />
CGO<br />
EGY<br />
CAN<br />
CHN<br />
ESP<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 16<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 128<br />
Round of 64<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 32<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Silver medal<br />
Round of 32<br />
Round of 64<br />
Quarter-Final<br />
Round of 64<br />
Rd of 128<br />
Round of 128<br />
Preliminary Round<br />
Round of 128<br />
Gold medal<br />
Round of 64<br />
7th place<br />
13th place<br />
13th place<br />
9th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
9th place<br />
7th place<br />
13th place<br />
13th place<br />
9th place<br />
5th place<br />
9th place<br />
13th place<br />
5th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
Silver medal<br />
13th place<br />
13th place<br />
9th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
9th place<br />
Olympians<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 229
Olympians<br />
SINGAPORE YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES 2010<br />
Name NOC<br />
BS XT<br />
ARSA MARAKKALA Hasintha<br />
BAJGER Ondrej<br />
BEDAIR Omar<br />
CHEW Zhe Yu Clarence<br />
CHIU Chung Hei<br />
DAS Avik<br />
FUCEC Luka<br />
GAUZY Simon<br />
GAVILAN Axel<br />
HAGERAATS Koen<br />
HMAM Adem<br />
HOLIKOV Elmurod<br />
HUNG Tzu-Hsiang<br />
JOUTI Eric<br />
KIM Dong Hyun<br />
KIM Kwang Song<br />
KULPA Konrad<br />
LAKATOS Tamas<br />
LEITGEB Stefan<br />
LI KAM WA Warren<br />
MASSAH Patrick<br />
MEJIA Luis<br />
MUTTI Leonardo<br />
NIWA Koki<br />
ONAOLAPO Ojo<br />
SANTIWATTANATARM Tanapol<br />
SARAGOVI Pablo<br />
SODERLUND Hampus<br />
TAPIA Rodrigo<br />
VANROSSOMME Emilien<br />
WAGNER Florian<br />
WU Kevin<br />
SRI<br />
CZE<br />
EGY<br />
SIN<br />
HKG<br />
IND<br />
CRO<br />
FRA<br />
PAR<br />
NED<br />
TUN<br />
UZB<br />
TPE<br />
BRA<br />
KOR<br />
PRK<br />
POL<br />
HUN<br />
AUT<br />
MRI<br />
MAW<br />
ESA<br />
ITA<br />
JPN<br />
NGR<br />
THA<br />
ARG<br />
SWE<br />
ECU<br />
BEL<br />
GER<br />
NZL<br />
25th place<br />
9th place<br />
17th place<br />
9th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
29th place<br />
9th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
17th place<br />
9th place<br />
17th place<br />
21st place<br />
Silver medal<br />
21st place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
4th place<br />
9th place<br />
29th place<br />
29th place<br />
25th place<br />
21st place<br />
Gold medal<br />
Quarter-final<br />
17th place<br />
29th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
25th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
21st place<br />
25th place<br />
25th place<br />
17th place<br />
9th place<br />
5th place<br />
9th place<br />
17th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
21st place<br />
25th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
21st place<br />
5th place<br />
9th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
4th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
17th place<br />
25th place<br />
21st place<br />
25th place<br />
17th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
25th place<br />
5th place<br />
21st place<br />
5th place<br />
25th place<br />
9th place<br />
Partner ill<br />
25th place<br />
230<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
SINGAPORE YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES 2010<br />
Name NOC GS XT<br />
Olympians<br />
BARAVOK Katsiaryna<br />
BHANDARKAR Mallika<br />
BLIZNET Olga<br />
CORDERO Carelyn<br />
EERLAND Britt<br />
GALIC Alex<br />
GIARDI Letizia<br />
GU Yuting<br />
HSING Ariel<br />
HUANG Hsin<br />
JEGER Mateja<br />
KIM Song I<br />
KUMAHARA Caroline<br />
LAID Islem<br />
LI Isabelle Siyun<br />
LOVERIDGE Alice<br />
MAFUTA IVOSO Jolie<br />
MESHREF Dina<br />
NAGYVARADI Mercedes<br />
NG Ka Yee<br />
NOSKOVA Yana<br />
PANG Céline<br />
PHAN Lily<br />
ROSHEUVEL Adielle<br />
SAWETTABUT Suthasini<br />
SOLJA Petrissa<br />
SZOCS Bernadette<br />
TANIOKA Ayuka<br />
VITHANAGE Nuwani<br />
WU Julia<br />
XIAO Maria<br />
YANG Ha Eun<br />
BLR<br />
IND<br />
MDA<br />
PUR<br />
NED<br />
SLO<br />
SMR<br />
CHN<br />
USA<br />
TPE<br />
CRO<br />
PRK<br />
BRA<br />
ALG<br />
SIN<br />
GBR<br />
CGO<br />
EGY<br />
HUN<br />
HKG<br />
RUS<br />
FRA<br />
AUS<br />
GUY<br />
THA<br />
GER<br />
ROU<br />
JPN<br />
SRI<br />
NZL<br />
POR<br />
KOR<br />
21st place<br />
21st place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
21st place<br />
9th place<br />
21st place<br />
25th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
9th place<br />
17th place<br />
9th place<br />
Quarter-final<br />
9th place<br />
29th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
17th place<br />
25th place<br />
9th place<br />
17th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
17th place<br />
25th place<br />
29th place<br />
4th place<br />
Absent ill<br />
Quarter-final<br />
Quarter-final<br />
25th place<br />
29th place<br />
9th place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
17th place<br />
17th place<br />
9th place<br />
21st place<br />
25th place<br />
17th place<br />
21st place<br />
Bronze medal<br />
21st place<br />
5th place<br />
9th place<br />
4th place<br />
9th place<br />
25th place<br />
5th place<br />
17th place<br />
25th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
9th place<br />
21st place<br />
9th place<br />
25th place<br />
25th place<br />
5th place<br />
Absent ill<br />
5th place<br />
Gold medal<br />
25th place<br />
25th place<br />
9th place<br />
Silver medal<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 231
Olympians<br />
232<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis<br />
Olympians<br />
Natalia Partyka was present at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games<br />
in Beijing in 2008, once again she is in both competitions in <strong>London</strong> in <strong>2012</strong><br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 233
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
<strong>London</strong>,<br />
Saturday 28th July - Wednesday 8th<br />
August <strong>2012</strong><br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
234<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
The <strong>London</strong> <strong>2012</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Competi<strong>to</strong>rs - Men<br />
Competi<strong>to</strong>rs - Women<br />
Men’s Singles, Men’s Team<br />
Women’s Singles, Women’s Team<br />
Officials<br />
Schedule of Play<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 235
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
The <strong>2012</strong> Olympics table tennis competition<br />
will be held in ExCeL <strong>London</strong>, a<br />
large exhibition centre built on the site<br />
of the Royal Vic<strong>to</strong>ria Dock, about 17 kilometres<br />
from the centre of the city and<br />
close <strong>to</strong> the Olympic Park. The centre<br />
was opened in 2000 and was greatly extended<br />
in 2010, and it has hosted a wide<br />
range of events, from sporting competitions<br />
<strong>to</strong> political conferences - even the<br />
European Star Wars Celebration!<br />
It consists of two large halls with a <strong>to</strong>tal<br />
floor area of nearly 100,000 square<br />
metres, which can be sub-divided in<strong>to</strong><br />
smaller halls as required. The hall in<br />
which the table tennis competition will<br />
be played has a floor area of more than<br />
18,000 square metres and will accommodate<br />
up <strong>to</strong> four tables, with seating<br />
for 6,000 specta<strong>to</strong>rs. During the Games<br />
the boxing, judo, fencing, taekwondo<br />
weight-lifting and wrestling competitions<br />
also will be held on the site.<br />
As in 2008, there will be men’s and<br />
women’s singles and team events. The<br />
number of players in each singles event<br />
will be limited <strong>to</strong> 70 and, in order <strong>to</strong><br />
ensure entries from as many National<br />
Olympic Committees as possible, there<br />
will no more than two from the same<br />
National Olympic Committee. Following<br />
the established pattern, the singles<br />
events will be played as knock-outs, with<br />
players from the same National Olympic<br />
Committee being drawn in<strong>to</strong> opposite<br />
halves.<br />
The format for matches in the team<br />
events will be the same as in Beijing.<br />
The three players in a team will play two<br />
singles, a doubles and then, if necessary,<br />
one or two more singles, until one<br />
team has won three individual matches,<br />
with no player being allowed <strong>to</strong> play<br />
more than twice. Individual matches in<br />
the team events will again be the best<br />
of five games. This time there will, however,<br />
be no groups and each team event<br />
will be played as a knock-out from the<br />
start.<br />
Like the 1926 World Championships,<br />
the <strong>2012</strong> Olympics competition will be<br />
played on up <strong>to</strong> four tables, but there<br />
the similarities end:<br />
The 1926 men’s team event was played<br />
as a group but in <strong>2012</strong> it will be played<br />
as a knock- out. In 1926 the three players<br />
in a team all played singles against<br />
all three members of the opposing team<br />
but in <strong>2012</strong> they will play up <strong>to</strong> five<br />
matches, four singles and a doubles.<br />
There was no women’s team competition<br />
in 1926, but in <strong>2012</strong> there will be<br />
one, played on the same basis as the<br />
men’s competition.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Players in the <strong>to</strong>p 16 places of the World<br />
ranking will enter direct in<strong>to</strong> the third<br />
round and those ranked 17-32 direct<br />
in<strong>to</strong> the second round; all other players<br />
will compete in the first round or,<br />
if there are more than 64 entries, in a<br />
qualifying round. Singles matches will<br />
be the best of seven games.<br />
236<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
World Championships Olympic Games<br />
Men’s Teams 7 16<br />
Women’s Teams 0 16<br />
Men’s Singles 64 70 (max)<br />
Women’s Singles 16 70 (max)<br />
Men’s Doubles Pairs 26 0<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Mixed Doubles Pairs 13 0<br />
Men’s Minor Singles 59 0<br />
Total of Individual Matches 379 300 (max)<br />
Duration in Days 7 12<br />
The numbers of players in men’s singles<br />
will be similar for the two competitions,<br />
but in <strong>2012</strong> the number of women singles<br />
players will be four times as great<br />
as in 1926. The 1926 Championships included<br />
also men’s and mixed doubles<br />
events, as well as a men’s minor singles<br />
for lower-ranked players, none of which<br />
will have any equivalent in <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
The outcome of all these differences<br />
means that the <strong>to</strong>tal number of individual<br />
matches in <strong>2012</strong> will probably be<br />
about 30% less than in 1926. So why will<br />
the competition take almost twice as<br />
long <strong>to</strong> complete? One reason is that table<br />
tennis in 1926 was far simpler technically<br />
than it is <strong>to</strong>day. There was no need<br />
then for racket control, when the Laws<br />
said the racket could be of “any material,<br />
size, shape or weight”.<br />
Now it must be checked that rackets are<br />
covered with one of more than 1,000 authorised<br />
materials and that they comply<br />
with the requirements for colour, thickness,<br />
flatness and freedom from chemical<br />
or other treatment.<br />
In 1926 a “stimulant” probably referred<br />
<strong>to</strong> a cup of tea or coffee between<br />
matches, but now players must be routinely<br />
tested for a growing list of performance-enhancing<br />
substances.<br />
There were then no restrictions on clothing,<br />
but now it necessary <strong>to</strong> determine<br />
that colours and designs are acceptable<br />
and that International Olympic Committee<br />
regulations on advertising are observed.<br />
All of these complications result in more<br />
time-consuming procedures and the<br />
need for more technical officials, but<br />
there is a more significant reason for the<br />
extended duration.<br />
The 1926 World Championships was<br />
not a matter of great interest except <strong>to</strong><br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 237
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
the players concerned and a fairly small<br />
number of table tennis enthusiasts. Table<br />
tennis was generally covered by only<br />
a few newspapers, and then only sporadically,<br />
although The Times of <strong>London</strong><br />
did send a reporter on that occasion.<br />
Radio broadcasting had begun in <strong>London</strong><br />
only a few years earlier and the first<br />
sports commentary, on a Rugby match,<br />
was not until 1927. The presentation of<br />
matches and the schedule of play had,<br />
therefore, <strong>to</strong> consider only the requirements<br />
of the participants and the specta<strong>to</strong>rs<br />
who actually attended.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Nowadays television has transformed<br />
the situation. Specta<strong>to</strong>rs are not limited<br />
<strong>to</strong> those lucky enough <strong>to</strong> be present at<br />
the event. There is a world-wide audience<br />
expecting their chosen sports <strong>to</strong><br />
be professionally presented at convenient<br />
times for viewing, and the playing<br />
schedule must take account of this. Video<br />
replays and slow-motion shots will<br />
show up any mistakes by organisers and<br />
officials, and avoiding these calls for<br />
thorough preparation and rehearsal.<br />
The management of media relations is<br />
another substantial area of work that<br />
the 1926 World Championships organisers<br />
could hardly have imagined. All<br />
these additional demands mean that<br />
bringing the <strong>2012</strong> Olympics competition<br />
<strong>to</strong> a successful conclusion will not be an<br />
easy task.<br />
Table tennis has adapted <strong>to</strong> the demands<br />
of television, as shown by its rating<br />
for the 2008 Games, and it is <strong>to</strong> be<br />
hoped that <strong>London</strong> <strong>2012</strong> will see a further<br />
increase in its standing.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
238<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 239
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Competi<strong>to</strong>rs -Men<br />
Name NOC D.O.B. Qualification<br />
240<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Name<br />
Competi<strong>to</strong>rs -Men<br />
NOC D.O.B. Qualification<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 241
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Competi<strong>to</strong>rs -Women<br />
Name NOC D.O.B. Qualification<br />
242<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Competi<strong>to</strong>rs -Women<br />
Name NOC D.O.B. Qualification<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 243
Men’s Singles (69 Players)<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
LIU Song<br />
HAN Justin<br />
HENZELL William<br />
CHEN Weixing<br />
SCHLAGER Werner<br />
SAIVE Jean-Michel<br />
SAMSONOV Vladimir<br />
HOYAMA Hugo<br />
TSUBOI Gustavo<br />
HINSE Pierre-Luc<br />
HO Andre<br />
IDOWU Saheed<br />
SAKA Suraju<br />
WANG Hao<br />
ZHANG Jike<br />
GACINA Andrej<br />
PRIMORAC Zoran<br />
PEREIRA Andy<br />
BENTSEN Allan<br />
MAZE Michael<br />
LIN Ju<br />
ASSAR Omar<br />
LASHIN El-Sayed<br />
HE Zhiwen<br />
MACHADO Carlos<br />
MATTENET Adrien<br />
DRINKHALL Paul<br />
BOLL Timo<br />
OVTCHAROV Dimitrij<br />
GIONIS Panagiotis<br />
KREANGA Kalinikos<br />
JIANG Tianyi<br />
TANG Peng<br />
PATTANTYUS Adam<br />
ZWICKL Daniel<br />
GHOSH Soumyajit<br />
ALAMIYAN Noshad<br />
BOBOCICA Mihai<br />
KISHIKAWA Seiya<br />
MIZUTANI Jun<br />
JOO Saehyuk<br />
OH Sangeun<br />
AL-HASAN Ibrahem<br />
BURGIS Matiss<br />
ARG<br />
AUS<br />
AUS<br />
AUT<br />
AUT<br />
BEL<br />
BLR<br />
BRA<br />
BRA<br />
CAN<br />
CAN<br />
CGO<br />
CGO<br />
CHN<br />
CHN<br />
CRO<br />
CRO<br />
CUB<br />
DEN<br />
DEN<br />
DOM<br />
EGY<br />
EGY<br />
ESP<br />
ESP<br />
FRA<br />
GBR<br />
GER<br />
GER<br />
GRE<br />
GRE<br />
HKG<br />
HKG<br />
HUN<br />
HUN<br />
IND<br />
IRI<br />
ITA<br />
JPN<br />
JPN<br />
KOR<br />
KOR<br />
KUW<br />
LAT<br />
244<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Men’s Singles (69 Players)<br />
ARUNA Quadri NGR<br />
TORIOLA Segun NGR<br />
AGUIRRE Marcelo<br />
WANG Zeng Yi<br />
FREITAS Marcos<br />
MONTEIRO João<br />
KIM Hyok Bong<br />
KIM Song Nam<br />
CRISAN Adrian<br />
SHIBAEV Alexander<br />
SMIRNOV Alexey<br />
GAO Ning<br />
YANG Zi<br />
TOKIC Bojan<br />
JEVTOVIC Marko<br />
KARAKASEVIC Aleksandar<br />
GERELL Pär<br />
PERSSON Jörgen<br />
AGBETOGLO Komu<br />
CHUANG Chih-Yuan<br />
VANG Bora<br />
DIDUKH Oleksandr<br />
ZHMUDENKO Yaroslav<br />
WANG Timothy<br />
SHING Yoshua<br />
NGR<br />
NGR<br />
PAR<br />
POL<br />
POR<br />
POR<br />
PRK<br />
PRK<br />
ROU<br />
RUS<br />
RUS<br />
SIN<br />
SIN<br />
SLO<br />
SRB<br />
SRB<br />
SWE<br />
SWE<br />
TOG<br />
TPE<br />
TUR<br />
UKR<br />
UKR<br />
USA<br />
VAN<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Notation - Grey: direct entry qualified by ranking Green: continental qualification Blue: host nation & tripartite<br />
Men’s Team (16 Teams)<br />
Egypt<br />
China<br />
Germany<br />
Brazil<br />
Canada<br />
Australia<br />
Great Britain<br />
Korea<br />
Japan<br />
Austria<br />
Sweden<br />
Singapore<br />
Hong Kong<br />
Portugal<br />
DPR Korea<br />
Russia<br />
ASSAR Omar, LASHIN El-Sayed, ALI SALEH Ahmed<br />
WANG Hao, ZHANG Jike, MA Long<br />
BOLL Timo, OVTCHAROV Dimitrij, STEGER Bastian<br />
TSUBOI Gustavo, HOYAMA Hugo, MONTEIRO Thiago<br />
HO André, HINSE Pierre-Luc, WANG Zhen<br />
HENZELL William, HAN Justin, FRANK Robert<br />
DRINKHALL Paul, PITCHFORD Liam, BAGGALEY Andrew<br />
JOO Saehyuk, OH Sangeun, RYU Seungmin<br />
MIZUTANI Jun, KISHIKAWA Seiya, NIWA Koki<br />
SCHLAGER Werner, CHEN Weixing, GARDOS Robert<br />
PERSSON Jörgen, GERELL Pär, LUNDQVIST Jens<br />
GAO Ning, YANG Zi, ZHAN Jian<br />
TANG Peng, JIANG Tianyi, LEUNG Chu Yan<br />
FREITAS Marcos, MONTEIRO João, APOLONIA Tiago<br />
KIM Hyok Bong, KIM Song Nam, JANG Song Man<br />
SMIRNOV Alexey, SHIBAEV Alexander, SKACHKOV Kirill<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 245
Women’s Singles (69 Players)<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
LAY Jian Fang<br />
MIAO Miao<br />
LI Qiangbing<br />
LIU Jia<br />
PAVLOVICH Vik<strong>to</strong>ria<br />
PRIVALOVA Aleksandra<br />
KUMAHARA Caroline<br />
SILVA Ligia<br />
ZHANG Mo<br />
HAN Xing<br />
RODRIGUEZ Berta<br />
DING Ning<br />
LI Xiaoxia<br />
HANFFOU Sarah<br />
MEDINA Paula<br />
MOLNAR Cornelia<br />
TIAN Yuan<br />
HADACOVA Dana<br />
VACENOVSKA Iveta<br />
SKOV Mie<br />
HASSAN FARAH Yasmin<br />
EL-DAWLATLY Nadeen<br />
MESHREF Dina<br />
RAMIREZ Sara<br />
SHEN Yanfei<br />
LI Xue<br />
XIAN Yifang<br />
PARKER JOANNA<br />
SILBEREISEN Kristin<br />
WU Jiaduo<br />
JIANG Huajun<br />
TIE Yana<br />
POTA Georgina<br />
TOTH Krisztina<br />
DAS Ankita<br />
SHAHSAVARI Neda<br />
TAN Wenling<br />
FUKUHARA Ai<br />
ISHIKAWA Kasumi<br />
KIM Kyungah<br />
PARK Miyoung<br />
MOUMJOGHLIAN Tvin Carole<br />
NI Xia Lian<br />
SILVA Yadira<br />
LI Jiao<br />
LI Jie<br />
AUS<br />
AUS<br />
AUT<br />
AUT<br />
BLR<br />
BLR<br />
BRA<br />
BRA<br />
CAN<br />
CGO<br />
CHI<br />
CHN<br />
CHN<br />
CMR<br />
COL<br />
CRO<br />
CRO<br />
CZE<br />
CZE<br />
DEN<br />
DJI<br />
EGY<br />
EGY<br />
ESP<br />
ESP<br />
FRA<br />
FRA<br />
GBR<br />
GER<br />
GER<br />
HKG<br />
HKG<br />
HUN<br />
HUN<br />
IND<br />
IRI<br />
ITA<br />
JPN<br />
JPN<br />
KOR<br />
KOR<br />
LIB<br />
LUX<br />
MEX<br />
NED<br />
NED<br />
246<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
Women’s Singles (69 Players)<br />
EDEM Offiong<br />
OSHONAIKE Olufunke<br />
LI Qian<br />
PARTYKA Natalia<br />
HUANG MENDES Lei<br />
KIM Jong<br />
RI Myong Sun<br />
DODEAN Daniela<br />
SAMARA Elizabeta<br />
NOSKOVA Yana<br />
TIKHOMIROVA Anna<br />
FENG Tianwei<br />
WANG Yuegu<br />
KOMWONG Nanthana<br />
CHEN Szu-Yu<br />
HUANG Yi-Hua<br />
HU Melek<br />
BILENKO Tetyana<br />
PESOTSKA Margaryta<br />
HSING Ariel<br />
ZHANG Lily<br />
LULU Anolyn<br />
RAMOS Fabiola<br />
NGR<br />
NGR<br />
POL<br />
POL<br />
POR<br />
PRK<br />
PRK<br />
ROU<br />
ROU<br />
RUS<br />
RUS<br />
SIN<br />
SIN<br />
THA<br />
TPE<br />
TPE<br />
TUR<br />
UKR<br />
UKR<br />
USA<br />
USA<br />
VAN<br />
VEN<br />
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Notation - Grey: direct entry qualified by ranking Green: continental qualification Blue: host nation & tripartite<br />
Women’s Team (16 Teams)<br />
Egypt<br />
China<br />
Germany<br />
Brazil<br />
U.S.A.<br />
Australia<br />
Great Britain<br />
Singapore<br />
Korea<br />
Hong Kong<br />
Japan<br />
DPR Korea<br />
Austria<br />
Spain<br />
Netherlands<br />
Poland<br />
EL-DAWLATLY Nadeen, MESHREF Dina, MAGDY Raghd<br />
LI Xiaoxia, DING Ning, GUO Yue<br />
WU Jiaduo, SILBEREISEN Kristin, IVANCAN Irene<br />
SILVA Ligia, KUMAHARA Caroline, GUI Lin<br />
HSING Ariel, ZHANG Lily, WU Erica<br />
LAY Jian Fang, MIAO Miao, TAN Zhenhua (Vivian)<br />
PARKER Joanna, SIBLEY Kelly, LIU Na<br />
FENG Tianwei, WANG Yuegu, LI Jiawei<br />
KIM Kyungah, PARK Miyoung, SEOK Hajung<br />
TIE Yana, JIANG Huajun, LEE Ho Ching<br />
ISHIKAWA Kasumi, FUKUHARA Ai, HIRANO Sayaka<br />
KIM Jong, RI Myong Sun, RI Mi Gyong<br />
LIU Jia, LI Qiangbing, SOLJA Amelie<br />
SHEN Yanfei, RAMIREZ Sara, DVORAK Galia<br />
LI Jiao, LI Jie, TIMINA Elena<br />
LI Qian, PARTYKA Natalia, GRZYBOWSKA Katarzyna<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 247
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Rémy Gros<br />
248<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>
The <strong>London</strong> Olympic Games<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 249
Special Pho<strong>to</strong>s<br />
A special presentation was made at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games <strong>to</strong> Jean-<br />
Michel Saive (Belgium), Zoran Primorac (Croatia) and Jörgen Persson (Sweden);<br />
they had competed in every Olympic Games since table tennis was introduced in<br />
Seoul in 1988. They are all competing in <strong>London</strong>, their seventh Olympic Games<br />
250<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong><br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: Monthly World Table Tennis
Special Pho<strong>to</strong>s<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong> 251
Olympic Gold Medallists Women<br />
252<br />
<strong>London</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>London</strong>