News :
There was success for Singapore in both the Under 21 MenÂ’s Singles and Under 21 WomenÂ’s Singles finals at the Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals in Fuzhou, China on the evening of Saturday 10th December 2005.
In the Under 21 MenÂ’s Singles event YANG Zi beat KoreaÂ’s CHO Eon Rae 13-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-4, whilst in the counterpart womenÂ’s event SUN Bei Bei defeated ItalyÂ’s Nicoletta STEFANOVA 8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6.
SUN Bei Bei, winner of the Under 21 Women's Singles title in Fuzhou
It was the third time in recent months that YANG Zi had prevailed against CHO Eon Rae, having won in the final of the Under 21 MenÂ’s Singles event at the Volkswagen Open Japan in September and also he had won in Fuzhou; the two players had been drawn in the same group in the event and had played each other in the very first match.
Last Match
“I know I’d won when we played earlier in the tournament but this was the final, so I was really focused, it was the last match, there was no second chance”, explained YANG Zi. “I hadn’t been playing that well before the start of the tournament, so I’m really pleased with my form here in Fuzhou and it puts me in a good frame of mind for the Asia Cup in India next week.”
YANG Zi was dominant from start to finish; basically, he believed, his opponent didnÂ’t. It wasnÂ’t the same CHO Eon Rae who one round earlier had beaten LIM Jae Hyun, CHO Eon Rae never settled into a rhythm, rarely was allowed to take the initiative and was beaten comfortably.
Dominant
“He had problems returning my service”, continued YANG Zi. “Also, on the first three attacking strokes I felt I played really well today.” The Singaporean was dominant; he attacked quickly from the very start. “The fact that I’d beaten him before meant that he didn’t have any confidence against me”, continued YANG Zi. “He’s confident against other Koreans and he’s one of the very best of the Korean boys but against me he doesn’t seem to believe he can win.”
The speed of YANG Zi was evident in the contest, he was the faster player. “In the first three games he was fighting”, continued YANG Zi. “However, after I won those two games his heart wasn’t really in the match and I won the last two games more easily.”
A very good result for YANG Zi and it was also a good result for Singapore with some thirty minutes earlier, SUN Bei Bei having won the Under 21 Women’s Singles title. “I’m really happy to have won”, said YANG Zi. “Also, it’s good for Singapore that we both won, I hope it will encourage players and perhaps encourage more people to play table tennis.”
Focused
Meanwhile, for SUN Bei Bei she was equally focused on the task in hand. “I really concentrated and kept reminding myself what I had to do”, she said. “I felt confident, I had a clear mind.” SUN Bei Bei played in her usual fast attacking style and maintained the pressure on STEFANOVA. “I’m really happy to have won”, she smiled. “Now all I want to do is to back to Shandong and see my parents, so I can tell them how I won.”
The end of another busy day for SUN Bei Bei but she cannot rest yet; sheÂ’s still in the WomenÂ’s Doubles event, the semi-finals with WANG Yue Gu; the duo play GAO Jun and SHEN Yanfei.
