(Translated from articles in www.cn-tt.com)
Click here for the photos of Liu's, Schalger's, Wang Nan's, and Bai Yang's equipment. From the top:
Bai Yang's: Butterfly Madash FL blade, 5-ply, 6.2 mm thick. Forehand rubber: Yasaka Mark-V, black. Backhand rubber: Butterfly Rein (pips-out), red.
Wang Nan's: Avalox-P500 blade (new handle style for her), Swedish-made, 5-ply, thickness 6.0 mm. Forehand top-sheet: Friendship 729-2, red. Forehand sponge: DHS 22#, 2.2 mm, hardness 42. Backhand top-sheet: Friendship 729, black. Backhand sponge: DHS 22#, 2.15 mm, hardness 41.
Liu Guozheng's: Butterfly C. Legout - AN blade, made in Europe, 5-ply, thickness 6.1 mm. Forehand rubber: DHS Hurricane II, black. 2.15 mm sponge thickness, hardness index 42. Backhand rubber: Butterfly, red (model not disclosed).
Schlager's: Butterfly Primorac Carbon, made in Japan, 5-ply, thickness 7.1 mm. Forehand rubber: Butterfly Bryce, red. Backhand rubber: Butterfly Bryce, black.
For results of the Liu-Schlager match, see the 2/18 page.
Go to this page for photos from the Challenge Match. From top, 3 photos of Bai Yang, 3 photos of Wang Nan, 3 photos of Liu Guozheng, and 3 photos of Schlager.
Schlager's trip to China was a tough one. After a 12-hour flight from Germany to Beijing, he arrived on 2/16 at the Beijing airport, where he had to autograph 30 pictures. Then he and his wife flew to Wubei province, and took a 3-hour bus ride to the ancient city of Jingzhou (sp?) where the challenge match was held.
Schlager was a net addict. The next morning he went to the hotel's business center to access the internet. But because of the slow speed, he was not able to see the European sites. However, he did see some of the Chinese sites, including cn-tt.
One of Schlager's major hobbies is collecting. As soon as he arrived in China, he asked where to buy CPU cooling fans. On 2/17, during the morning, he went shopping at the local computer market. He bought over 10 CPU fans because they were very inexpensive, maybe at one-tenth what they cost in Europe. Also he bought a used CPU. He was very happy because that particular model could not be found in Europe anymore.
Click here for photos of Schlager touring the historical city of Jingzhou, which is very famous because of the strategic role it played during the Three Kingdoms period (about 200-300 AD). In the second photo from the top, the woman in a white coat is probably Schlager's wife.
World number-one player Wang Liqin easily won the English Open singles title. Since the Sydney Olympics, Wang has been almost unbeatable. His stock certainly has risen, as far as the coming Worlds is concerned.
Wang is 23-years old, and 1.82 m tall. He has played since he was six, and he joined the Shanghai team at age 13. At 15, he entered the 2nd national team, and he became a main team player at 18. Wang is an introvert. His style is shakehand looping combined with fast-attack. When he was 21, he was ranked 4th in the world. He has won the 1999 ITTF Pro-Tour Grand Final, the 1999 Worlds doubles silver, and the Sydney doubles gold.
Last year was not a smooth one for Wang. "Wang's techniques and skills are awesome to watch. But his strategic thinking ability is weak. Sometimes he does not use his head in a match, and he also does not perform consistently. Therefore we paired him up with Yan Sen for the Olympics, and hoped that it would help him", coach Cai said.
After his Olympics performance, Wang has gradually matured and learned how to use his brain along with his skills. "The Olympic experience had increased my mental capacity. Now I don't feel pressure playing matches", Wang said. After the ball-size increase, Wang has not been as active with social functions as Liu or Kong. He started training hard with the big ball, and found a good set of techniques to use. In this year's ITTF Pro-Tour Grand Final, he captured the singles and doubles titles. His super-league team is also tied for the number one spot. Seeing how well that team is playing, the sports ministry officials sent the Shanghai team to the English Open. Wang showed that he is virtually unstoppable now, and took home the singles crown.
Wang said "I am still not a super player; I am only very good. Now when I am behind in a match, I do not feel any emotional perturbation. I know that I can persevere and win. My style is to use my own power to hit the ball, so I have a smoother transition to the bigger ball. But my overall ability still has room for improvement. My first 3 shots and linking those to continual attacks still are somewhat problematic. And I have not won any major world title yet. I will fight for the Osaka Worlds title, and winning the Grand Slam is my goal."
(Chung's notes: Wang's most recent loss was to Liu Guozheng in a league match right before the English Open. Internationally, his last loss was to Chiang Peng-Lung at the University Games teams final last October, right after the transition to the bigger ball and the World Cup.)