News feed from ITTF

Elena Timina, the former Russian international now resident and playing in the Netherlands, was the player to raise the eyebrows on the opening day of play, Thursday 29th May 2008, at the Volkswagen Open Korea in Daejeon.

Playing in her typically determined manner, her defensive skills to the fore; she beat Chinese Taipei teenager, Cheng I-Ching before accounting for Hong Kong’s Sun Jin in a hard fought six games duel.

Sun Jin is the latest recruit to the ranks of the Hong Kong Table Tennis Association; a former member of the Chinese national team she was a major force at international level between 1997 and 2000.

During that period, she reached the Women’s Singles final on nine occasions at open international tournaments on the ITTF Pro Tour, being crowned champion twice; whilst at the Sidney Olympic Games she was a silver medallist in the Women’s Doubles event. She partnered Yang Ying, the pair losing to colleagues Li Ju and Wang Nan in the final.

Defeat for Sun Jin but few problems for the highest world ranked players on duty in the qualification stage of the Women’s Singles event; Italy’s Wenling Tan Monfardini and Nikoleta Stefanova plus Thailand’s Nanthana Komwong and Li Jie of the Netherlands all emerged successful.

However, in the qualification stage of the Men’s Singles event there was one casualty; Chinese Taipei’s Chang Yen-Shu, the third highest world ranked male player on duty, was beaten by Austrian teenager, Stefan Fegerl.

The young Austrian finished in first place in the group overcoming Kuwait’s Ibrahim Al-Hasan to confirm top spot.

Defeat for Chang Yen-Shu but no great problems for the two highest rated men.

China’s Xu Hui and Germany’s Zoltan Fejer-Konnerth both enjoyed success as did the fourth highest world ranked player, Lars Hielscher, also from Germany.