tth: TEAM Singapore~Table tennis

Li Jia Wei¬

¬Bronze Medal Play-Off¬

BEIJING: In tears after a third but unsuccessful attempt at winning an individual Olympic medal, paddler Li Jiawei yesterday thanked Singaporeans for their support and hinted that Beijing would be her final Games.

'This should be my last Olympics,' said an emotional Li, 27, when asked if she would return for another attempt in 2012. She finished fourth after losing a hard- fought bronze-medal play-off against China's Guo Yue, in a repeat of the 2004 Athens Games result.

In what sounded like a farewell speech, Li added: 'I went to Singapore when I was 13, and even though I was from China, Singapore developed my talents and literally watched me grow up. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.'

However, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said he hoped Beijing would not be Li's last Olympics.

But if Beijing does indeed turn out to be her final Olympic outing, then Li certainly saved her best for last. She gave her best performance at the 2008 Games yesterday when she took on the world's top two players - China's top seed Zhang Yining and her compatriot Guo, the second seed.

Li took on Zhang first in the morning's semi-finals, and raced to a 6-3 lead in the third game, when the match was balanced at 1-1. But the Singaporean became impatient and allowed Zhang to seize the next two games to win 4-1.

Li had one final chance at individual glory in the evening when she took on Guo in the bronze-medal play-off, and the Singapore player went all out.

She dropped the first two games, then clawed back by winning the next two. As the battle see-sawed between them, TV screens flashed close-up images of a Chinese word that Li had scribbled on her left palm - '稳', which means 'steady'.

'I write one word for every match,' she said. 'I felt I had a real chance against Guo, so I told myself to be steady and not get too impatient.'

But it was not to be. Guo regained the initiative and took the next two games.
Her victory marked a clean sweep for the Chinese women, who won all the singles medals yesterday. Defending champion Zhang beat compatriot Wang Nan 4-1 in the final.

Liu Guodong, the Singapore team's head coach, said he was very pleased with Li despite her losses.

But he disagreed with the word that Li had scribbled on her palm, adding: 'I would have told her to be '狠' instead of '稳' .

'At the Olympics, you can win only if you are ruthless. You can play a steady game against weaker opponents.
'But, against stronger players like those from China, you can win only if you show ruthlessness.'

¬A medal at the next Olympics, vows Feng¬

BEIJING: I will win an individual medal at the next Olympic Games.

That is Feng Tianwei's promise after losing to China's world No 1 Zhang Yining in the women's singles quarter-finals yesterday.

'I'm sure I'll win a medal at the next Olympics,' the 21-year-old Singaporean said, after the 11-13, 14-12, 12-14, 10-12, 11-13 loss ended of her maiden Olympics campaign.

Although Feng can look back on a successful debut - in which she starred in Singapore's march to a women's team silver, playing a key role in the 3-2 semi-final win over South Korea - she could not help lamenting on what could have been.

With the games tied 1-1, Feng held game point at 10-8, only for Zhang to pull level at 10-10 before going on to win 14-12.

Said Tianwei: 'I didn't play too badly, and wasn't too overwhelmed. But I largely lost on the psychological aspect.
'In terms of technique and strategy, I was no worse than her. But she was more determined towards the end.
'I had no pressure, so I simply went out and gave it everything.
'The only regret I have is that, in the third game, when I was 10-8 up, I did not win the game. If I had won, the outcome would have been different.'

Zhang said she was prepared for a tough match against Feng as she had lost to her in March's Asian Cup.
'Compared to the last time, I feel that she has improved in her ability to sustain a rally. She is still young and has a great future.'

Indeed, skills wise, there was little separating the two women, in an extraordinary match that saw all five games tied 10-10 at one point or the other.

But defending Olympic singles champion Zhang, 27, used her experience to her advantage.
She stalled for time at crucial stages of the game, either by asking for a change of balls or taking the maximum time allowed with her serves.
It broke Feng's rhythm, noticeably in the fourth game.

Leading 10-6, Zhang allowed the Singaporean to catch up to 10-10. But, by taking an extra few seconds, Zhang was able to compose herself to take the next two points and the game.

Feng, the world No 9, hopes to improve her world rankings in time for the 2012 Games. Then, if she meets Zhang again, it will hopefully be for a medal.

'Yes I did not capitalise on the chances I had today,' said Feng seeded sixth in Beijing, not high enough to avoid a quarter-final showdown with Zhang.

'Hopefully, at the next Olympics, I can try again.'

anw, here's a must-watch fer supporters of LI JIA WEI & FENG TIAN WEI.. its an china show interview with them b4 olympics
http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=426895254

Well,they lost the singles.but so wat,they played remarkably well^^n dats wat matters.the essence of e matches is e skills n determination..at least they won a silver in e ever-tough TEAM match..

After they won TEAM silver medal..(below)