Huge support for Chueng Yuk is not
enough to break the defense of Yang Song Man
In an extremely entertaining battle
at the Shek Kip Mei Park Sports Centre in Hong Kong in
the afternoon of the 9th of March the final
Olympic Qualifying position to be decided from the Asia
Olympic Qualification Tournament was decided. Chueng Yuk
from Hong Kong providing fast attack was up against “the
wall” from North Korea, defensive player Yang Song Man.
With powerful forehands Chueng during
many rallies looked as though he would find a way past
the North Korean, but it seemed the harder he tried the
more the North Korean was able to return. In fact the
North Korean was even able to occasionally supply his
own form of attack to make it even more difficult for
Cheung. With both the first two games being won by Yang
12 points to 10 it looked difficult for Cheung to get
back into the match.
However it was a packed house and
full support for Cheung from the local fans and he
played two brilliant games to bring the score back to
even. He was playing inspired table tennis and in the 5th
Cheung got stronger and stronger and the crowd louder
and louder as the Olympic position came closer to his
reach, taking the 5th game 11-5 to put him in
the lead for the first time of the match.
However, when things looked they were
going all the Hong Kong’s star way Yang found something
extra and with a little bit of luck going his way took
the match to a deciding 7th game.
With a pure battle between defense
and attack the match really could have gone either way.
It was a final game that provided everything and was
perhaps one of the best matches of table tennis seen in
some time, by far the match of the tournament. At 9 – 9
some of the best rallies had been produced and then Yang
at 10-9 in front got a slightly high returned push which
he raced in from the back of the court and smashed for a
winner with his backhand and took the match 4 games to
3. He threw his racket in the air and raced to a joyous
coach where they embraced a very successful event for
the North Korean Team and a key to the Beijing 2008
Olympic Games.
Back
