Singapore’s Olympic medal drought is finally over.
The country’s women’s table tennis team’s narrow victory of 3-2 over their South Korean counterparts at Friday’s semi-finals garauntees her first Olympic medal in almost half a century.
Weightlifter Tan Howe Liang gave the nation its only Olympic medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics – a Silver.
Wth a spot at the finals, Singapore will get silver if she loses against China, and gold if she wins.
Getting into the finals was no easy feat; there was no clear winner throughout the entire semi-finals. After Feng Tian Wei won the first match against South Korean Dang Ye-seo, Singapore’s world number six Li Jia Wei lost to Kim Kyung-ah.
Singapore’s comeback in the third match – doubles with Li and Wang Yue Gu against Kim and Park Mi-young- was erased when Wang lost to Dang.
Each country now had two victories, and moving on to the finals boiled down to the very last match. Feng managed to beat a determined Park 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 11-9, bringing Singapore’s long wait for a medal to an end.
An elated Singapore coach Liu Guodong said, "I’m extremely satisfied and give my team full marks. I feel that our mission has been accomplished because I treated today’s match as a final."
He adds, "I’m very happy to have helped the country end its 48-year medal drought."
Feng Tian Wei was relieved. She explained her strategy, "I had to be patient and wait for opportunities to attack. When everyone was nervous at the last moment, staying calm was my advantage."
The South Koreans’ hopes for a medal for table tennis are not gone; they will fight for bronze in the play off. Their coach, Hyun Jung-Hwa, said, "It’s pity that we lost, but we will try to get a bronze medal."
Chinese paddler Zhang Yining is not too concerned with the Singapore threat at the finals on Sunday, though. She said, "We won’t be overcautious because I believe the aggressive side will prevail."
China had previously easily trashed Hong Kong 3-0.
Semi-final results: Singapore beat South Korea 3-2
Feng Tianwei (SIN) bt Dang Ye Seo (KOR) 11-5, 11-5, 11-2
Kim Kyung Ah (KOR) bt Li Jiawei (SIN) 5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9
Wang Yuegu/Li Jiawei (SIN) bt Park Mi Young/Kim Kyung Ah (KOR) 11-7, 11-6, 11-9
Dang Ye Seo (KOR) bt Wang Yuegu (SIN) 11-8, 14-12, 11-9
Feng Tianwei (SIN) bt Park Mi Young (KOR) 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 11-9.
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