In the single elimination round, China got a scare in its first contest. After a tight 4th match, China escaped with a 3-1 victory over Netherlands.
The first two matches were relatively normal. Wang and Kong won 2-0 respectively over Heister and Keen. Then in the 3rd match Liu Guoliang faced Netherlands number 3 player Yu Kalun, who is of Chinese origin but grew up in the Netherlands. Yu's ranking is outside of 100. Liu played this match very awkwardly. He scored few points on his service, and lost a lot of points in returning Yu's loops. He ended up losing 0-2 at 19 and 20. This huge upset seemed to have invigorated Keen, and Wang seemed not quite mentally ready for the match. In the first game, Wang seldom used his power, and his placements were not that good. He lost 18-21. In the second game the score was tight all the way, with Wang trailing 17-18 when he had his last set of serves. At this critical juncture, Wang increased his aggressiveness to attack after service, and won 4 points in a row to pull the game out 21-18. In the 3rd game, Wang played a lot more aggressively, and kept pressure on his opponent. He won the 3rd game 21-17.
Afterwards Li Furong, leader of the Chinese representation, told reporters that they needed to summarize this match after they get back to the hotel. He felt that Liu played too conservatively, and did not show any of his strengths. "He was not aggressive in attacking after service, and also did not return serves well. In the elimination round every match is a tough one. The players have to make the mental adjustments quickly, and play at their best levels", Li said.
The other 1/8 finals were fiercely contested. Sweden won 3-1 over Greece, with Persson losing to Kreanga. Persson also had trouble with another Greek player, and narrowly won 2-1 in the 4th match. If Persson were to lose that 4th match, Kreanga would then play Waldner, and that would have been a very tough match for Sweden. Austria, led by Schlager, beat Chinese Taipei 3-2. Schlager picked up 2 points in that hard-fought contest, winning the last game at 24-22 over Chuan Chi-Yuan to end the match. Belgium continued their success by beating Yugoslavia rather easily at 3-0. Italy took out the home team Japan 3-0, in a surprisingly easy contest. France scored a 3-2 win over Belarus, and Germany also had a tight victory over Poland with the same score. S. Korea also defeated Czechoslovakia 3-2.
The Chinese men's team will take a day off tomorrow, and resume play on April 27 against Germany. In the same half as China are France and S. Korea. In the top half Sweden will face Austria, and Italy will play Belgium. Of the final 8 teams, only 2 are from Asia. On the women's side things are opposite: there are 6 Asian teams and only 2 European teams.
Chung's Notes: Liu Guoliang's huge upset loss is hard to explain. Calling it a mental lapse seems to be the most charitable description. It will be difficult for the Chinese to play Liu anymore in the coming matches. Wang is obviously rattled by Liu's loss (just like Kong was last year in the second match against Sweden), he clearly was not expecting to have to play the 4th match, and it is good to see him maintain control and finally prevail. I would expect to see Wang and Kong play in the first 2 positions throughout the rest of the event, with Liu Guozheng and Ma taking up the 3rd position in turn.
I am a little puzzled by the lineups of some of the teams. Why did Greece not play their best player Kreanga in the 4th match? Why was Iseki used as the 3rd player by Japan? Why was Schlager playing as the number 2 player? These are not teams with a lot of depth, and I would think that they should play their best player in the number-1 position.
Belgium is playing surprisingly well. Sweden has shown that they are not as strong as before. Austria, with its addition of ex-Chinese player Chen Weixing, is fighting hard. Sweden does not have a smooth road to the finals. China is still the strongest team, despite Liu Guoliang's fiasco. Kong is now mature and mentally sharp, and Wang has had his jitters. Neither France, Germany or S. Korea looks particularly strong at this point, all having to fight hard to stay alive. China has a easier path to the finals than Sweden, I think.
The Chinese team faced some difficulties in the first contest of the elimination round. Wang lost the first game of the 4th match, and was behind in the second game. Finally he won and the Chinese escaped with a 3-1 victory. Afterwards, reporters talked to Wang.
Wang said: "This is the closest match so far, because all the previous ones we won easily 3-0. In the 3rd match today, Liu lost unexpectedly. So in that 4th match, I was not in the right frame of mind quickly. In the first game I did not play with clear strategy and techniques, and the opponent's shots are relatively strong. It was hard for me to quickly end the points. In the 2nd and 3rd games, I was returning serves better, and reduced the number of defensive errors. In the 3rd game, I had the lead. My serves were not especially good, but I finished the game reasonably well. The key to that 3rd game was that I was able to stay mentally calm."
Chung's Notes: Wang showed his strength by beating Heister convincingly in the first match, winning the 2nd game 21-5.
In the round of 16, Liu lost a match to the Netherlands team. Afterwards, Cai talked to reporters about the Chinese performance and Liu Guoliang.
Cai said: " During our pre-game meetings, we asked our players to stay level-headed. From this point on, our opponents are tougher and tougher, and we are playing single elimination. But we also cannot put too much pressure on our players. The reporters surrounding us, the Japanese spectators, the ex-Chinese players in Japan, and the coaches all contribute to pressure on our players, so we ask them to stay mentally calm.
"Secondly, I ask our players to assume that they will face a higher level of difficulty in the matches, becuase the opponents are stronger, the competition is fiercer, and the levels are closer. So we have to expect difficulties. Based on today's match, we did OK. From the perspective of the finals, I think Wang has matured and met our goals. Because Wang lost the first game, was behind in the 2nd, and his strategies are not working well, and yet he was able to withstand the pressure. Through re-adjsutments he caught up and finally won. I think this is a good experience for Wang. He was not as mature mentally and strategically, but today he passed the test. For him, this is a big step forward.
"The main problem today was that Liu, with his team leading 2-0, did not take the match seriously enough. Their 3rd player was not particularly strong, and Liu did not count on having difficulties. He was impatient when things did not turn out the way he had expected, and could not show his strengths. As a great player, serves are very important, but even more important is how to attack after service. Liu did not attack enough and did not have that clear advantage. In the second game, when the score was close, Liu was rushing. Liu had not been playing well, is it because of the big ball? Yes, and I also look at it from 2 perspectives. First, the level he showed today is not his real level, or maybe I should say it is not his competition level. His mistake was taking his opponent too lightly, and not taking advantage of his vast experiences. From another perspective, Liu is not playing as well as in the small-ball era. In spin, and in the quality of his serves, he is not as good as before. He has tried different serves, but the results are not as good. We are not sure whether it is because of the rubber, or because of techniques.
"Overall things look normal. Our goal is the Swaythling Cup. We won 3-1, and that was not a very good result, but I think it is nothing unusual. Kong and Wang have played well, and only Liu is not yet doing all that well. Other than China and Sweden, the other teams are still playing. The teams are close in levels, and the competition is fierce. Our team has performed at its level, but we have some difficulties along the way, and could not easily win. We will summarize our match today, and prepare for the tough competition ahead."
Chung's notes: In another report, right after Liu lost, Cai sent Liu Guozheng to practice with Liu Guoliang outside, while the match was still ongoing. Later they came back, and apparently Cai was satisfied that there was nothing wrong with Liu Guoliang.
On April 25, China faced Germany in an afternoon contest, and won 3-0 to advance to the round of 8. China sent in Li Ju, Wang Nan and Zhang Yining. Liu won the first match against Struse at 17 and 20. In the second game Li felt behind 0-5 after her first round of service, but slowly caught up. In the second match, Wang easily won 2-0 over Schall, with scores of 21-14 and 21-10. In the 3rd match, Zhang played Schoepp, an ex-Chinese chopper, and won at 13 and 14.
Coach Lu said that in the elimination stage, there is no room for careless mistakes. "Even though our opponents are not as good as us, we still have to take every match seriously", he said.
China will play the next match tomorrow afternoon against Hungary. The winner will advance to the semi-finals.
Chung's Notes: China seems to have settled on playing Li, Wang and Zhang, their best players, in all the remaining matches. Too bad that Sun Jin never had a chance to play at all. German coach Prausse said before the match that the Chinese were beatable. I am not sure about that. All the other teams seem to be struggling a bit, and yet Wang, Li and Zhang are just getting warmed up. They do have to worry about mental lapses, but Wang in particular, is very strong mentally.
Here are some photos from today's competition:
Wang Nan serving against Schall
Keen in action against Croatia
Kong getting ready for a forehand kill
Wang Nan forehand-looping against Schall
The World Championships are held during the best season of the year in Japan. This cleanliness of this city by the bay, and the well-developed subway system all left a deep impression with us. But all these could not help solve the major problem faced by the reporters.
1. Computers. Everyone of us carries our laptop computer and accessories that total close to 5 kg. Some of us also carry the photo equipment. These are our "weapons", and we could not be without them. But in Osaka, most of us found our weapons not working. The power plugs here are different. So we all went looking for the adaptors. Then there is the voltage: Japan uses 100VAC. So we worry that the computers may not work. Fortunately, the lower voltage did not cause any problems.
2. Our biggest problem is accessing the internet. Once we step into the hotel room, our first question is: How do I connect to the internet. The attendant pointed to the telephone with a smile, and motioned to us that we just have to plug the cable into the telephone jack. But the mystery is how to dial out, and which ISP to use? Also our fax software does not seem to work properly. The next day, before the news center opens, we were looking around in the city, amidst the misty rain, for a place to get on the net.
The news center opened on April 22, and over 100 reporters showed up. All day we heard complaints about how to connect to the net. We finally figured out that we would need to establish an internet account with a credit card before we can get on. Further a lot of the hotels palce restrictions on data calls, so a lot of us are "crippled".
3. The News Center. The working conditions here are really bad. Several hundred reporters from all over the world are covering the tournament, but there are only 192 desks. There are only 10 computers that are connected to the internet, and 5 of those are for researching results and other information. They are all placed close together on several big tables, so we hear all kinds of languages being spoken while we are waiting there.
But the biggest problem is still getting on the net. Several hundred of us are sharing 5 computers, so we all have to wait our turns patiently. The European and American reporters use English, so all of those computers work for them. But there are only 2 out of the 5 that have Chinese language set up, to be shared by roughly 60 Chinese reporters. We all rush to finish what we need to do so as not to hold up others.
Osaka is also hoping to host the Olympics, and there are services here that are not quite "international". We (the Chinese) have to learn from this to make us more competitive, in our quest to host the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.