China's Ma Lin returns a shot to Greece's Kalinikos Kreanga during their match at the Table Tennis Tournament of Champions in Changsha in central China's Hunan Province on Saturday, January 10, 2009. [Photo: Xinhua]
Related: Olympic Final Rematch Set up at Table Tennis Tournament of Champions
Results of table tennis Tournament of Champions
Rivalry is to be resumed between the finalists of both the Olympic table tennis competitions and the world championships singles events as all seeds made through to the semifinals in Changsha on Saturday at the season-ending Tournament of Champions.
Ma Lin, gold medalist of men's singles at last August's Beijing Olympic Games, set up a rematch with Chinese compatriot Wang Hao, who had to settle for a second straight Olympic silver medal after losing the final 4-1 to Ma.
The world 1-2 ranked duo, both pen holders, respectively denied their European rivals' chance to advance, as Wang beat Germany's teenage sensation Dimitrij Ovtcharov 11-4, 11-8, 11-5,11-9, following Ma's 11-7, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 victory over former World Cup winner Kalinikos Kreanga.
"It will be the second time that Ma Lin and I face each other outside of the national team's training hall after the ban on speed glue took effect," said Wang, currently world No. 1. "We'll see who's the better one in handling the non-speed glued racket."
Later on Saturday afternoon, Germany's Timo Boll, the top ranked European male paddler, earned his berth to face three-time world champion Wang Liqin of China by ousting Swedish veteran Jorgen Persson 11-4, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4.
Wang Liqin advanced on Saturday with a 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8 victory over Chinese Taipei's No. 1 player Chuang Chih Yuan.
The former world No. 1 declined to blame the ban on speed glue for losing the opening two sets, saying that "I easily gave up two sets with lack of self-confidence rather than playing slower and weaker with non-speed glue racket".
In the women's play, Olympic champion and world No. 1 Zhang Yining beat Singapore's Wang Yue Gu to make the semis, though coming out the sole player who lost one set in both the men's and women's matchups in the morning session.
Fourth seed Li Jia Wei of Singapore ousted Ruta Paskauskiene of Lithuan, 11-3, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5. The only other European representer, Elisabeta Samara of Romania lost in straight sets to second seeded world champion Guo Yue in the afternoon.
Guo awaits a world championship final rematch against compatriot Li Xiaoxia, who downed Singapore's Feng Tian Wei 4-2.
As the last event on the international calendar of table tennis, Tournament of Champions have drawn the world's leading star paddlers to congregate in the central Chinese city Changsha this weekend.
The prestigious tourney, with winners of Olymic Games, world championships, world cups and the ITTF ProTour Finals to lead the field, had usually been staged in late December since it was recognized as an A-class event by the sport's world governing body in 2006, but had to be scheduled for early in 2009 after a busy year with the Beijing Olympics.
Total prize money amounts to 250,000 U.S. dollars, reaching a new high for the tournament, and men's and women's winners will each receive 45,000 dollars.
