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WELL DONE, GUYS
(Singapore's Male Paddlers Win Commonwealth Title In India)
By Jason Cai
Sweet revenge with a bit of history thrown in. That was what the Singapore men's table tennis team achieved at the Commonwealth Championships in Jaipur, India, when they won the title with a 3-0 win over the hosts.
First Title
The victory - courtesy of the efforts of Yang Zi, Gao Ning and Cai Xiaoli (pix) - marked our first men's title at this level. It was a nice reversal of the result at last year's Commonwealth Games final in Melbourne when Singapore met India. Our women's team of Sun Bei Bei, Wang Yuegu and Tan Paey Fern also did well, winning their fifth straight team title after beating Malaysia 3-1.
Men's Event
In the men's event, Yang Zi, the world No 32, got us to a great start. Despite being pitted against local favourite and singles defending champion Sharath Kamal, he prevailed 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7. Gao Ning then beat Soumyadeep Roy 16-14, 11-7, 11-7 while Cai Xialoi defeated Subhajit Saha 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6. Earlier in the competition, our guys emerged tops in the group stages, ahead of Nigeria, Scotland and England.
Women's Event
In the women's competition, Malaysia's Beh Lee Wei caused the Singapore camp some worry when she beat Sun Bei Bei 11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 5-11, 11-8. But world No 8 Wang Yuegu defeated Ng Sock Khim 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 5-11, 11-8 to equal the score. Tan Paey Fern then put us ahead with a 9-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-8 win over Soo Jin Chiu. Yuegu came back to beat Beh 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4 to clinch the title for Singapore. Earlier, our girls proved too strong for India, Nigeria and Canada.
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