Hong Kong's Ko Lai Chak and Li Ching have produced an amazing result: they beat 9th seed Waldner/Persson 2-0 in the men's doubles event.
Li and Ko had to play the qualifying rounds before entering the main draw. Facing the famous Swedish pair Waldner/Persson, they did not seem intimidated at all. Right from the beginning, they established their advantages, and only took 23 minutes to score a 21-15, 24-22 victory to move into the second round.
Hong Kong's coach Wang Wenhua was not surprised about the Hong Kong pair's performance: "Back in February when we went to the English Open, Li and Ko played against Waldner and another player in the second round. They had the upper hand in that match, but were a little nervous at the end, and lost. So I am not surprised this time.
"Li and Ko won because they played decisively; at critical points they were not afraid to attack, and they took advantage of the opportunities. We hope that they could continue at this level to achieve better results."
Li Ching said, "We tried to stay level-headed in this match, and not be scared by the opponent's fame. And that worked".
Besides Li/Ko, Hong Kong's Cheung/Leung also advanced.
Photos: Ko after scoring a point, Waldner and Persson in the match, Li and Ko at end of match.
Ko Lai Chak: 24 years old, from Guangdong province, world-ranked number 130, left-handed penholder.
Li Ching: 25 years old, from Guangdong province, world-ranked number 143, right-handed penholder.
Both players played in the Guangdong provincial team, and were in the national team at one time.
Li and Ko both beat He Zhiwen in the team tie for 21st-24th place. Li
also beat Blaszczyk and Krzeszewski in group play.
