Great Wall of China stands firm

EINDHOVEN (NETHERLANDS), Aug 9: The all-conquering Chinese team left the 45th World Table Tennis Championships here with all five gold an...

EINDHOVEN (NETHERLANDS), Aug 9: The all-conquering Chinese team left the 45th World Table Tennis Championships here with all five gold and silver medals and warned the rest of the world that the best was yet to come.China, who also took four bronze medals, came to Holland determined to win back the men’s singles title that has spent most of the 1990s in Europe — they already dominated the women’s game — and they were not disappointed.But even they were surprised by the extent of their supremacy in these games in which not a single non-Chinese player managed to reach a final in any category.

It is the third time China have swept the board — the other occasions were in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia in 1981, and on home soil in 1995.

New men’s champion Liu Guoliang was diplomatic to European sensitivities after a championship in which they were simply outclassed. He said: “I would say that between Europe and Asia it is very much 50-50. I think the confrontation between Europe and Asia will continue for sometime.”But, even though victory against compatriot Ma Lin gave Liu the one title to elude him in his glittering career, the new champion indicated that the collective hunger for success was greater than ever.

When asked if he was eager to defend his Olympic crown at Sydney next year, Liu retorted: “The most important title for China is the world team title. This (the World Team Championships in Malaysia, in February) is more imperative than the Sydney Games because it is closer.”

In fact, these were indeed the individual World Championships but one would never have guessed it, judging by the way the Chinese delegation bonded as a team.

Liu said: “In our training camp, we have 20 or 30 very good players together. In Europe, most of the good players are with different clubs so it is difficult for them to come together. But our training camp is a big advantage.” And the new millennium promises an even brighter future for the Chinese if Wang Nan, their new women’s singles champion is to bebelieved.Wang, who with Li Ju also took the women’s doubles crown, was understandably jubilant as she ensured the singles title remained in China following the retirement of Deng Yaping, a living legend in her native country.

But, at 20, the left-hander revealed she was worried she might not reign too long.

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Wang said: “We (myself and Li) could be regarded as older players. This time, I think Li Nan, Zhang Yining and Zhang Yingying played great games.”Li was unheard of before this tournament and like Zhang Yining, is 17, while Zhang Yingying is 16.

Wang again displayed the team ethic when asked if she was disappointed to miss a third gold in the mixed doubles. To be fair, China were already dominant in the women’s game with the main opposition coming from Chinese-born players based in Europe.

But now the balance of power looks to have shifted definitively from Europe to the world’s most populous country in the men’s game too.