Two Chinese players, top seed Wang Hao and second seed Ma Lin will meet in the Table Tennis Men's Singles final which secured China's clean sweep of all four Table Tennis gold medals.
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Wang Hao celebrates winning a point. (Photo credit: Xinhua) |
World No.1 Wang Hao met the Swedish veteran Jorgen Persson in the first match of the Men's Singles semifinals. Persson gave an outstanding performance but Wang was unbeatable. Nicknamed "Hurricane," Wang claimed victory 4-1.
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Ma Lin celebrates victory. (Photo credit: Xinhua) |
World No.2 Ma Lin met his teammate Wang Liqin who has beaten him twice in the World Championships final before. But this time, Ma triumphed. Wang failed to deal with Ma's serve effectively and lost several easy shots. Wang was not in his best form throughout the match. Ma, however, entered form early on and didn't let Wang catch his weaker backhand. With a 4-2, Ma headed into the final to fight for the Olympic gold that has eluded his resume.
Ma Lin will play Wang Hao in the final to be held at 8:30 Saturday evening (UTC/GMT+8). Wang Liqin will contend for the bronze medal against Jorgen Persson an hour earlier than the gold medal match.
(BOCOG August 23, 2008)