Zhang powers to final
ByReuters
Published 21/08/2004 at 11:11 GMT
China's Zhang Yining, doubles gold medallist with Wang Nan, cruised past South Korea's Kim Kyung-ah 4-1 on Saturday to set up an Olympics women's singles table tennis title showdown with North Korea's Kim Hyang-mi.
World number one Zhang, 22, beat her unseeded opponent 13-11 11-8 11-6 5-11 11-8.
In the other semi-final, North Korea's Kim beat sixth-seed Li Jiawei of Singapore 4-3 in a classic see-saw duel to give his country their first shot at a gold medal in Athens.
The North Korean, cheered on by just six team mates and coaches in a gymnasium packed with Chinese fans backing Li, used her powerful backhand to wrest control of the match.
Li was born in China but received Singapore citizenship in 1999.
The North Korean, ranked 40th in the world, came back from an 11-0 loss in game three, but world number eight Li made a series of unforced errors and the nailbiter match went the full distance at 8-11 11-6 0-11 8-11 11-8 11-6 11-9.
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