Pro-Tour Grand Finals Preview

On January 10, the Chinese national team members flew to Yokohama, Japan to attend the 2000 Pro-Tour Grand Finals tournament. This is the first major international tournament after the Sydney Olympics, and is also the first since the big ball was adopted. For the Chinese coaching team that was formed just over a month ago, this trip means more than just trying to win a few titles; this is a major meeting of the minds.

Although in both men's and women's singles there are 5 Chinese players, the coaching team's ability is even more impressive. Besides Cai, the two coaching team leaders Yin Xiao (sp?) and Li Xiaodong will be at the tournament. Each of these coaches has been extremely successful, having developed numerous world champions. Combined, this is the strongest coaching team in the world.

For the three coaches, their mission, besides supervising their players, is to observe. Because the big ball has only been used for 3 months, they need to further understand how players from other countries have handled the adjustment. Also, for Yin who just returned to the national team, and for Li who has been moved to the women's coaching team, this is a great opportunity to observe the opponents.

Besides watching the other players, they have to watch their own team members. Although players like Liu Guoliang and Kong have played in a few tournaments and have been training with the big ball, their levels of adjustment have to be examined via top-level competition. The results are not relatively important; what is important is to find out if there are still problems getting used to the big ball. It is the same situation in the women's team. Wang Nan and Li Ju have not played internationally since the Olympics. Through this tournament, coach Li Xiaodong will be able to assess their abilities.

So for the coaching team, the Grand Finals is like a test, and a trial for the 46th Worlds.

The Chinese team players in Yokohama are: Kong, Liu Guoliang, Wang, Ma, Liu Guozheng, Yan, Wang Nan, Li Ju, Sun, Yang, Zhang Yining and Zhang Yingying. When they talked about this tournament, they all appear very calm.

Kong, who has not placed much hope in winning this tournament, predicts the winner will be among Wang, Ma, Liu Guozheng and Samsonov. For Liu Guoliang, this tournament is an opportunity to participate in high-level competition. He has not set any goals. Also, he is still making adjustments to his sponge.

Favorite Wang Liqin is not showing any emotion. The previous champion has learned to set his sights on higher goals.

Li Ju, who just started training, has not regained her playing shape yet. Wang Nan also has not played much, and her condition is still uncertain. For Zhang Yining who has played so well in the last couple of Pro-Tour stops, the goal is to beat all the non-Chinese players she faces. She is not too concerned about who wins, since her teammates are all very strong.

No Swede will be playing in Yokohama. Chen Jing also withdrew from the event. This means fewer obstacles on the way to the gold medals for the Chinese.

Yin said that even with the absence of the Swedes, his players still face major competition from players such as Samsonov, Kim, Rosskopf and Primorac. His players are not in great condition, and there is quite a lot of injuries. Kong, Liu Gouliang and Ma Lin are all playing hurt.

The Europeans have not done well in the last Pro-Tour stops. Kim has not performed well ever since his 1998 Asian Games victory. However, Chiang Peng-Lung from Taiwan is still on the rise, although he still is a little short of winning this title. He thinks the Chinese will win, and Wang and Liu Guozheng are the most likely victors.

On the women's side, coach Lu Yuansheng predicts the younger players will do well. "The younger players have trained more systematically, unlike Wang Nan or Li Ju,", he said. Sun Jin, Yang Ying and Zhang Yining all have good chances.


Cai Tells Players To Leave No Regrets

In the 2000 Pro-Tour tournaments, the Chinese have won every time they attended. So before the trip to Yokohama, Cai told his players to "start well and finish well", and not leave any regrets. There are 6 men and 6 women players going to the Grand Finals. They left on January 10, and arrived in Yokohama at 4 pm. Before dinner, the coaches spoke to the players. They asked the players to highly regard this tournament, play their best in every match, and prepare themselves for the coming Worlds. Cai wants the players to pay attention to adjusting their mental state, and to understand the behavior of the big ball.

After a brief rest team, the team practiced from 8 pm to 9:30 pm. According to coach Yin, the food and the accommodation in Yokohama are great, but the playing and practicing conditions are not as good. There are only 2 tables in the arena, and the practice hall is too far away. This is very inconvenient for the players. He also said that his players are in fairly good shape, and will not be affected by these "difficulties".


Wang Liqin Is Confident

Before departing for Yokohama, Wang Liqin said with confidence: "I have maintained good playing condition, and I just finished super-league play. I have trained well in Beijing. If I could play up to my normal level, I have the ability to win the championship."

Last year, Wang played in 5 Pro-Tour stops, and won 4 first places and one 3rd-place. He played amazingly well to deserve his title "Mr. Pro-Tour". "In the past I have not played consistently, mainly because of my mental qualities. Now I focus on strengthening my mental state in my training, and I feel that I am slowly maturing", Wang said.


Wang's Racket

Click here for a photo of Wang's racket. It is the 2nd from the top. Racket is stiga 5-ply. Forehand covering is DHS Hurricane II, and backhand covering is Nittaku inverted. The first photo shows Chen Junji's racket, and the 3rd shows Feng Zhe's. The 4th photo shows the new Hurricane II rubber.

Chire Koyama To Retire From International Competition

Former Chinese player and world champion Chire Koyama has announced her retirement from international competition. The 36-year-old player told JTTA that because of the tough physical demands necessary to play in world tournaments, she has decide to stop playing internationally. She will still consider playing in Japan and will help train young players.

Last month Koyama won her 8th Japanese singles title, and was included in the list of players to play in the 46th Worlds. But she now decided not to play in Osaka.


For ITTF Pro-Tour Coverage go to: http://www.ittfprotour.com/

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