Today I scored two comeback victories. In the morning, I narrowly beat Li Jia Wei 3-2. I was down 1-2 in games.
After that match, many asked me if I felt I was going to lose, when the score was 16-20 in the 4th game. I told them that I did not have time to worry about that. I only believed in my ability, that I can catch her, by winning a point at a time. I was not rattled because this was not the first time I played in a big game. I knew I should be able to use my experience to control things and turn the game around.
The afternoon doubles match was similar; we were also behind 1-2 in games to Korea's Kim/Ryu. After taking the 4th game, we fought a tough battle to win the fifth at 24-22, to advance to the finals. After the morning match, I felt mentally stronger, and I knew that I could bear down at the crucial junctures. Yang Ying and Sun Jin are already in the finals, so the gold belongs to China. But we will be fighting each other in the finals.
I have never experienced a day like today, and never thought that I would. Now that the matches are over, I could still feel the fear, and I know I was lucky. If I made any mistake at the end, I would feel very differently now.
Everyone was sweating it out for me. When I called my family back home, they told me that they did not think that luck would be so persistently on my side. Especially in the singles match. My mom said that she and my dad thought that I was finished, but she stood by the TV to watch the last points of the 4th game. I certainly could feel their emotions and their anxiety.
I did not expect today's matches to be so difficult. Although we studied Li beforehand, we did not realize that she could perform so well. Against her serves and her backhand hits, I did not have good counter-measures. But when I won the 4th game, I knew I would win the match.
Overall I have not let everyone down. After these tight matches, I should take a good look at my performance. That will be beneficial for the later matches.
My opponent in the singles quarter-finals is Chire Koyama. I am confident that I will win. I know that luck always accompanies the strong.
Last night, Wang Nan and Li Ju had to struggle, as if walking a tight-rope, to beat Korea's Kim/Ryu and remove the last obstacle to the gold medal for China.
Judging by the results, Wang and Li were able to come from behind at the most critical moments, and that demonstrates mental toughness. But they can learn from this match to improve their singles games.
They have lost to this Korean pair before in the Brazil Open. Kim and Ryu are thoroughly familiar with the tactics and strategies of Wang/Li. The Koreans were aggressive throughout the match, and worked hard to take the offensive initiative. They attacked serves and 3rd balls with great speed, therefore neutralizing Wang/Li's abilities to loop and rally.
Maybe it was due to insufficient mental preparation. Under pressure, Wang/Li were unable to vary their strategies to adapt to the Korean's fierce attacks. They have soft returns that got smashed, they did not take a strong initiative to open the attack, and they mainly pushed when returning serves. According to unofficial statistics, they committed 9 return errors in the 3rd game alone.
Also, in executing the strategy and in variations, Wang and Li were not as good as their opponents. For example, Ryu, when ahead 12-8 in the 3rd game, changed to backhand serves, and got 3 points in a row. This created some uncertainty in the minds of the Chinese pair. Fortunately Wang and Li realized this at the end, and aggressively went for the first strong loop, and tried to play longer rallies so as to utilize their strengths. Things started to open up, and they were able to recover from being down 1-2 in games, and then 19-20 in the 5th, to win the match at 24-22.
Afterwards, Zhang Xielin said that this was a very high level match. The expedite rule was used in the last game, which was very unusual. The Koreans played up to their full capabilities. The two sides knew each other very well, and the Chinese were prepared for a very tough match. But in the match Wang and Li were not able to open with strong loops, and had weak returns. In reality, this was a contest of mental toughness. Whoever is more courageous wins.
(Chung's notes: Before the Olympics, the Chinese ranked the degrees of difficulty in the four events. The men's singles was the most difficult, followed by women's doubles, men's doubles and women's singles. The sweep in the WD event was a very pleasant surprise. The Koreans have obviously viewed the doubles as the events where they could effectively compete against the Chinese. It was tough for them to have been beaten in such close matches. Even though Wang and Li are the top players in the world in singles, they are quite beatable, and they really have no advantage over the strong Korean pairs. This time they won purely because they have the mental wherewithal to play their best when cornered, surely a sign of great players. This mirrors Kong/Liu's performance in the MD. The Chinese coaches have done an excellent job in strengthening the wills of their players. Wang Nan, in particular, seems to play her best when the score is 16-20.)
Still under the shadows of that close loss in the men's doubles, a dejected Chiang was eliminated today by Liu Guozheng at 0-3 in games.
Chiang was visually depressed today. Right from the beginning, things were rough. In the first game, he was quickly behind 1-8. The 2nd game saw no improvement, losing 13-21. The 3rd game was more normal, with Chiang holding a small lead most of the way. But when ahead 19-18, he lost 3 points in a row. Goodbye to the Sydney Olympics.
Jing is playing better and better. She beat Romanian Steff by scores of 22-20, 21-12, 19-21 and 22-20 in the quarterfinal match.
One more victory will give Singapore its first Olympic medal in 40 years.
Since the two semifinal losers have to play for the bronze, Jing is not assured of a medal yet. She will face Li Ju in tomorrows semifinal match, and she will be the underdog.
In today's match, Jing continues her very high level of execution and displays her strong fighting spirits, taking only 46 minutes to dispose of 10th-seed Steff in an outstanding performance.
In the 1st game, Jing was behind 16-19 and in danger. But she used her good serves to tie the game up at 20, then winning at deuce.
Jing was playing very smoothly in the 2nd game, and with Steff showing nervously, easily won the 2nd game to take a 2-0 lead.
In the 3rd game, scores were very close, and Steff finally prevailed with a 2 point win.
In the 4th, Jing led at 20-15, and victory was in sight. Then Steff gave it her best effort, attacking with power, and tied the game up at 20. But then experience took over, and Jing won the game at 22-20, and the match at 3-1.
Afterwards, Jing said that the key was in the 1st game. Whoever wins that game has a big advantage and the momentum.
"When I was behind 16-19 in game one, I did not think too much. It was my turn to serve, and I made some variations and adjustments and caught up. In the 3rd game I was ahead 11-6, but I was trying to hard to win and lost a little concentration, and the game. In the 4th, I was ahead 20-15. To get that last point was like trying to climb a steep mountain; it was very hard," Jing said.
The 32-year-old Singaporean player could only make it the the last 16 in Atlanta. Now that she is in the final 4, she has no regrets however things may turn out.
"This time I am really surprised to make it so far. I am not giving myself any pressure. I have to fight hard for every win," she said. "Li Ju and I both played for the Jiangsu provincial team, and she was a junior teammate of mine. We play similar styles. Even though I am not favored to win, I will try hard."
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At a time like this we were at a loss for words. (Li) Jia-Wei's match against Wang Nan was like a replay of our last doubles match. It is just too painful. After Jia-Wei lost, she rush to the bathroom to cry. This is so heart-breaking, so regretful.
Table tennis can be like this. Sports can be this cruel. Someone has to win and someone has to lose. Before the last point is played, nothing is certain. So many "if"s and "only-if"s, it could drive you crazy.
So we could only use the simple word to console her. No Problem. Face Reality. There will be many more chances. Even though she lost, it was a glorious effort. She played to her best ability, demonstrating her style and her level, and the only thing missing is experience and luck. She will get to an even higher level; she has the capability.
For myself, I really never thought about how far I would go in singles. I put more hope on the doubles, The round-of-16 loss really hurt, but both sides played very well, and the opponents were very strong.
I got what I thought was a terrible draw in singles. But I was trying to play at my best, and I executed very well, and entered the final 8. I was very excited, because it was not easy at all for me.
I have to thank our sports ministers for giving us trust and support. Everyone was rooting for me in every match. Especially in the 2-point win against Geng, we must have been close to having a heart attack.
The sports ministers provide us with teachers to improve our mental skills, and help us play at our best. This is very important in high-level competition, where skills count for 30%, and mental toughness the other 70%.
I have to play one game at a time. At this point, everyone is at the same level. Key is execution on the court.