I am finally a grand-slam winner.
I finally have the 3 world titles.
I finally will not be placed behing Liu Guoliang.
I have realized my dream of a hundred years.
One of the reasons I won the match today was my confidence. Speaking the truth, I did not have any mental burden; I was feeling relaxed. Because I won quite easily the last 2 times I faced Waldner and did not face too much resistance. I was confident that I would beat Waldner, although he is a hero I respect.
This morning, I watched the tapes of my last 2 wins against Waldner, for the 27th time. When we were training at our base, one of the main training targets was Waldner, We had been practicing how to play him for more than half a year. Through the videotapes, I once more understood what it took to beat Waldner: whoever controls the pace will have the match in his hands. The other side will have no hope.
I also won on the strategy front. I had control of the match. In the first 2 games I had the control. I anticipated and cut off his killing shots, and solved the mystery of his serves.
The reason why I lost the next 2 games was I was not playing tough. I started to get conservative, not killing the shots that I should, giving him breathing room, and getting myself in trouble.
Then I remembered why I was here in the tournament: I needed to destroy all my opponents, with no exceptions.
In the 5th, I changed to a new kind of service that Waldner had not seen before. Right away, I jumped to a 10-1 lead. Now I could sense victory beckoning. I had to settle down my emotions, and continue the match.
The Olympic dream that was once so distant became real after the next few points. I went wild, and then I shook hands with the referees and Waldner. I can only remember that I was extremely excited, and I might have lost my composure. But those were my real emotions.
In the doubles, we lost to our teammates; we could only blame ourselves for not seizing the opportunities, because we were ahead in the games. But we lost to our own countrymen, so it did not feel too bad.
I did not realize that the doubles defeat would lead to my singles gold. I feel sorry for Liu: his 2 golds last time became a silver and a bronze.
Click here
for a photo of Kong.
An old Chinese saying:
The general who lost should not say he was brave. But did I really lose?
The truth is, at the top of today's TT world, there are several players who are quite close in levels. Anyone could win or lose. Whether you end up 6th 1st should not be surprising. I lost toWaldner, and that was something I hated to have happened. But who could say that I was at a higher level than Waldner? Put it another way, who can say that now I am at a lower level?
Now I have beaten Persson, and it was a clean, crisp victory. Is the bronze not good? Does the bronze mean that I could no longer play? Who can say that without the gold you are a failure? I feel that I did my best. And I played very well to beat Persson, because our levels are close.
I admit that I have reasons to lose to Waldner. I was a little unsure in the match, I did not handle the critical points well, I was rushing too much, and did not control the tempo. But in today's match I never played soft. For example, in the 1st game, I was behind 8-11. I did not show any emotions, because I knew that if I showed any discomfort, Persson would become more confident. So I persevered and won the game. Yesterday I rushed too much and lost. Today against Persson, I controlled the pace, so I won.
Today my best friend Kong beat Waldner. I am happy from the bottom of my heart. Because Kong is now a grand slam winner. I always believed that he had the capability. When he was training back home, he was targeting Waldner as his biggest competitor, and trained accordingly. I am proud to have a friend like him.
I believe in my own power. I believe my techniques can still improve.
I am still King.
Click
here for a photo of Liu. He was given a gold medal by the fans.
"Without a doubt, this match will go down in history as a classic. That's also true for the 2 semifinals yesterday, and the bronze medal match," Cai said. "Usually in a match there are only several classic points or scenes. But in this one, almost every point is a classic, and hard to flaw with. Every little mistake could become a turning point.
"Kong won because of his mental quality. He withstood the pressure at critical points of the match, and solved his past problems of not being able to handle pressure well. Secondly, Kong really understood his opponent, and was very well prepared. Thirdly, Kong has solved the serve return problem.
"The reason why today's match was so brilliant and exciting was because there were 2 momentum changes. One was when Kong was ahead 2-0 and then lost the next 2 games. The other was when the score was 2-2 in games, Kong suddenly started playing well and won the 5th handily.
"The reason why Kong won the first 2 games was he understood Waldner's style, and was well prepared. He stopped Waldner from controlling the 3rd balls, and was able to take advantage of his superior forehand. Then the game turned because Waldner started to be aggressive, attacking serves and destroying Kong's first balls. In practice, that could be very risky, but at that point, he had no choice. More importantly, with his experience and solid fundamentals, he was able to pull it off. So he managed to disrupt Kong's tempo and his game. Also, Kong's mindset changed a little after winning the first 2 games, and he got a little soft .
"In the 5th game, things turned again. Kong now realized what his problem was, and was determined to play his own game: very clean and hard shots with varying placements (cross-court to down the line, or vice-versa), and attacking with forehand. So finally he made it. He won", Cai said with a smile.
Click here
for a photo of Cai after the victory.
In the interview, Waldner still couldn't quite understand why Kong won. He let out a little secret: when Kong played Persson in the semifinal match, he had figured a way to play Kong. He would use his 3rd ball advantages to try to finish the points quickly. His coach Carlsson suggested that he should constantly vary his strategy, and dominate Kong in spirits. Because in the Swedish players' eyes, the handsome Kong is little "soft" (meaning could be pushed).
Waldner regretfully said, "Right from the start, I found that things were not good. Other than in the 3rd game when Kong made many mistakes, I almost did not have any chance to win. Also, maybe he was bolstered by Liu's win earlier, his spirits were very high, and he played very coolly and solidly. That was outside of my expectations. It looks like the Chinese have prepared very well. I spent 3 months preparing for the Olympics, and Kong probably spent 3 years. So I am lucky to get the silver".
Waldner also said that he and Kong have been in communication, and they exchange emails. After the rematch in Tianjin this year, Kong gave him a set of Chinese silk fabric as a present. He also said that he is not retiring yet. He hopes to see Kong play in Europe, so that he can better study Kong's style.
The admiration is obviously mutual. After the match, Kong also gave Waldner his respects. He said, "I have been following Waldner on TV since I was small. Today I beat him. Waldner is an extremely good player, beating him took some luck."
(Chung's notes: In the original article, the reporter said that Waldner's wife loved that gift from Kong. I am not sure if Waldner is married.)
Click here
for a photo of the medal ceremony.
Q: Congratulations. What is the next goal?
Yan: We are not used to the big ball. We hope to use this time to adjust
to it to get good results.
Q: Tell us how you feel when Kong played that last match.
Wang N: I watched the match, and I was thinking Kong would win, and
I was really excited. I was nervous watching him play, maybe even more
so than when I myself was playing.
Y: At the beginning of the 5th game, I was a little worried, and then
I felt much calmer.
Q: Kong, do you think that the Chinese penholder style is falling behind,
given that Liu lost several times to Waldner?
K: The techniques are not behind. Waldner has studied Liu's style in
detail, and has made adjustments. Liu will have opportunities to beat him;
Liu is very smart. A player cannot stay undefeated against another who
is at the same level. The (Liu) loss is not unusual.
Q: Wang Liqin, what are your chances of beating Waldner?
W.L.: I am behind Waldner, both in experience and in adaptability.
But I have my strengths, like aggressive attacking, rallies, and returning
serves well.
Q: You are world ranked number 1. Why were you not in singles?
W.L.: I deeply regret not being in the singles competition. At the
beginning of this year, I was not in good form. I did not perform consistently
in several major tournaments, so based on that, my coaches did not let
me play in the singles, and picked Liu Guozheng instead. Liu is in very
good form now.
Q: Do you want to play singles?
W.L.: Singles is the event I want to play the most. That's my next
goal.
Q: Yan Sen, how about you?
Y: My singles level is not very good now. I am focusing on doubles.
Q: Kong, tell us about Waldner.
K: I grew up watching Waldner play. He is a player that every one respects.
Both in talent and in accomplishments, he is exceptional. To be able to
beat him in such an important competition is something that I am extremely
proud of.