Sunday, November 1, 2009

Chinese hat-trick at English Open

Ma Long of China
Ma Long won the men's singles and doubles titles

Top seed Ma Long beat Olympic champion Ma Lin to secure the men's singles title as Chinese players dominated the English Open finals in Sheffield.

Long also teamed up with Wang Liqin to beat Japan's Jun Muzutani and Seiya Kishikawa in the men's doubles final.

In the women's singles, Guo Yan won an epic battle over compatriot Liu Shiwen.

But Koreans Kim Kyung Ah and Park Mi Young denied China a clean sweep, beating Guo Yan and Cheng Chenchen in a 75-minute final in the women's doubles.

The ITTF Pro Tour event at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, described as the "Wimbledon of table tennis", ran for the 65th time.

606: DEBATE

However, it has been absent from the calendar for the last eight years because of a lack of finances.

The best British showing was from Middlesbrough's Paul Drinkhall, who reached the second round of the men's singles and the quarter-finals of the Under-21 competition.

No comments: