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WORLD LEAGUE
(Li Jiawei & Wang Yuegu Carry Singapore's Hopes At World Event)
By Jason Cai
Paddlers Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Beibei (pix) will carry Singapore's hopes in the women's events at this week's Liebherr World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. Among them, Li seems to have a particularly good draw.
Real Test
The world No 7 and seventh seed will first take on Sweden's Matilda Ekholm. She is expected to face resistance only if she enters the round of 16 where she may meet Hong Kong's Jiang Huajun, winner of last month's Chile Open. Her real test will come if she makes the cut for the quarter-finals where her opponent is likely to be China's world No 3, Guo Yan.
Unenviable Task
Wang, seeded eighth, and Sun, the 17th seed, have their work cut out for them. They will face Sweden's Carina Jonsson and Serbia's Gabriela Feher respectively. Then, they may well play each other in the last 16, with the winner having the unenviable task of taking on China's world No 1 and defending champion, Zhang Yining, in the quarter-finals.
Good Fight
In the women's doubles, Wang and Li are our best bet for success. The pair have played together in four tournaments so far on the Pro Tour, including last month's Chile Open where they reached the semi-finals. In the men's competition, our team will find the going tough but players like Gao Ning and Yang Zi are fighters and can be counted on to put up a good fight.
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