China wary of Germany in table tennis
March 27th, 2012 - 4:24 pm ICT by IANSDortmund (Germany), March 27 (IANS) Chinese men’s team coach Liu Guoliang expects a tough fight from hosts Germany in the World Team Table Tennis Championships.
Liu hopes it would be a China-Germany title clash, Xinhua reported.
After the Chinese men’s team second win Monday, Liu said: “I noticed that the German team is quite fit now. Especially, because they are hosts, they have more energy to win.”
Liu recalled the 2006 edition in Bremen, Germany, when the hosts beat powerhouse China to win the men’s world championship title.
“But it was a 3-1 match, I mean, it was a tough game, it was really hard for us to win the last game. If you compare that German team, you will find this time they are much stronger.
“Six years ago, they didn’t have Dimitrij Ovtcharov, but now, I think that Ovtcharov is the second best European player after Timo Boll,” Liu said.
“I heard around 11 thousand tickets have been sold, and I know most spectators will cheer for the German team,” Liu said.
“However, I think that could also encourage the Chinese players to give their best performance.
“If the Chinese team could meet German team in the final, that will be very interesting.
“I hope both sides can try their best to bring a wonderful match, that will be good to the development of table tennis,” Liu said.
- China reign supreme at World TT - Apr 02, 2012
- China usual favourites at World TT Championships - Mar 23, 2012
- Olympic table tennis: China forces into the men's team final - Aug 07, 2012
- Olympics: Germany beat Hong Kong for table tennis bronze - Aug 08, 2012
- Olympic table tennis: China secures another gold - Aug 02, 2012
- Which is better shakehand or penhold? Star players battle it out - Jun 25, 2011
- Olympics: Chinese won't have it easy at London - Jul 26, 2012
- Expect charming athletes at London Olympics: Chinese daily - Jul 27, 2012
- Top seed Zhang Jike advances to table tennis final - Aug 02, 2012
- Olympic table tennis: China's Zhang Jike wins gold - Aug 03, 2012
- Olympics: Chinese paddler Zhang says first match crucial - Jul 27, 2012
- Indian TT star Sharath Kamal moves to tougher German league - Jul 23, 2010
- I am confident of making the Olympics: TT star Sharath Kamal - Feb 16, 2012
- Top teams reach quarters at World TT - Mar 29, 2012
- Chinese juggernaut rolls on at Olympics (World Roundup) - Aug 08, 2012
Tags: best performance, bremen germany, chinese men, chinese players, chinese team, development of table tennis, german team, germany march, last game, liu guoliang, match, powerhouse, six years, spectators, table tennis championships, team coach, tennis dortmund, timo boll, title clash, xinhua