Horror tournament continues for
Chinese Taipei as North Korean Kim Mi Young takes last
qualification position
It has not been an easy week for the
Chinese Taipei team. Chiang Peng Lung after some tough
draws and some big leads never managed to secure a
qualification position and the Women players have found
the going tough. In the playoff for the final position
Huang I Hwa found some form to have 3 match points
against the North Korean Kim Mi Young but in the end it
was still not to be as the North Korean fought back
With the first two games being shared
one each the right handed Taipei female found some form
with some excellent aggressive topspin play from both
wings skipping to a 3 games to 1 lead. However Young was
not done and her more passive play with excellent
blocking and placement got her back to 2 games to 3 and
with a chance.
In the 6th game it looked
as the North Korean would continue this form but perhaps
with a slip of concentration, producing a fault helped
Huang get to 5-3 lead. Some high level rallies followed
with some long topspin to topspin from the back of the
court and it was again neck and neck until Huang got the
upper edge to take a 10 -7 lead. A time out from the
North Korean then proved to be the answer and amazingly
she took the next five points to win 12-10 and things
were once again looking ominous for the team from
Chinese Taipei.
There was obvious pressure for both
players in the final set but the disappointment of
losing 3 match points and the excitement for the North
Korean to be back in the match seemed to be a major
factor as the Kim raced to an early 3-0 lead. At the
change of ends she had built the lead to 5-2 and winning
6 of the last 7 points meant she had qualified for the
2008 Olympic Games.
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