Ma long table tennis

GLASGOW - Singapore finished the Commonwealth Games with six table tennis golds out of a possible seven after Zhan Jian won the men's singles and Feng Tianwei secured her third gold of the Games with Yu Mengyu in the women's doubles. Singapore's dominance of the sport was no surprise but second seed Zhan's win against Gao Ning, the top seed, in the final, came as a minor shock. "I didn't have special strategies," said Zhan, who won 11-9, 11-2, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7. "We are good friends and very close. We were both very conflicted because we're good friends. We wanted to play a non-Singaporean. But we also wanted to win more medals for Singapore. "It was exciting but also painful because it was a long competition. It was a really stern test for us. But Gao is still the main man." Gao was fought all the way in the semi-finals by England's Liam Pitchford and managed to recover from 3-2 down to claim the match. But injury to his hand upset his rhythm in the final. Gao remained … [Read more...] about Commonwealth Games: Singapore take six out of seven table tennis golds

The national table tennis team kept up with their annual tradition of doing community work before the world champions, taking time out of their training to be at the Rainbow Centre-Yishun Park School on Tuesday morning. Led by world No. 7 Feng Tianwei, the paddlers interacted with the students through activities such as making cupcakes. Rainbow Centre-Yishun Park School caters to children with special needs such as physical and intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. Said Feng: "It was very meaningful for us to see these children with special needs perform for us. It touched me greatly. Their conditions may affect them, but their perseverance is something we should learn from." Added Singapore Table Tennis Association president Lee Bee Wah: "Today's outing really inspired our players further and we hope that our players will do their best and bring cheer to Singapore in the coming tournaments." The World Team Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) begin in Tokyo … [Read more...] about Table tennis: National paddlers spend time with children with special needs

MELBOURNE: Eight-time winner Novak Djokovic fought through what he had described as a tournament-ending injury to beat Milos Raonic and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday. Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams survived scares to go through but US Open champion Dominic Thiem was a major casualty when he fell to Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov. Simona Halep avenged her crushing French Open defeat by Polish teenager Iga Swiatek to set up a meeting with Williams, while Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei reached her first Slam quarter-final at the age of 35. Djokovic, the world number one, had raised the alarm over an abdominal injury after his five-set battle with Taylor Fritz, but he showed few outward signs in his 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win. However, the 17-time Grand Slam winner said he had spent "every single hour" since Friday's win trying to recover, and wasn't sure he would play until he warmed up before the match. "If it was any other tournament than a Grand Slam I would … [Read more...] about Tennis: Djokovic defies injury to reach Australian Open last eight

MELBOURNE: Australian showman Nick Kyrgios admitted Saturday (Jan 30) he didn't miss tennis, nor the people in it, during his year-long lay-off due to COVID-19, but now feels mentally refreshed and excited to be back. The 25-year-old last played in February at the Acapulco Open before a wrist injury and then the global pandemic brought his season to a halt. He opted not to travel for the US or French Opens and emerged as a moral voice for the game, blasting fellow stars - notably Novak Djokovic - over their behaviour during the virus crisis. "I don't miss too many people on the tour, to be honest. Apart from all the Australian guys," he said at Melbourne Park ahead of his comeback match in the ATP Murray River Open next week before the Australian Open on February 8. "I'm not going to lie, I didn't miss the game that much. "I'm a competitor, I compete with everything I do. But I was playing computer games, all that kind of stuff, getting my little competitive edge there. I … [Read more...] about Tennis: Kyrgios back after long lay-off but says he ‘didn’t miss it’

SINGAPORE: Singapore will enter into a recession this year because of the blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in job losses and lower wages, with “significant uncertainty” over how long and intense the downturn will be, the central bank warned on Tuesday (Apr 28). Depending on how the pandemic evolves and the efficacy of policy responses around the world, Singapore’s economic growth could even dip below the forecast range of -4 to -1 per cent to record its worst-ever contraction, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its latest half-yearly macroeconomic review. As a comparison, Singapore’s worst recession thus far was during the Asian financial crisis in 1998, when the economy contracted 2.2 per cent. Full-year economic growth came in at 0.1 per cent during the global financial crisis in 2009 and shrank 1.1 per cent during the dotcom bust in 2001. “The Singapore economy will enter into a recession this year,” said MAS in a 132-page report. “At this juncture … [Read more...] about Singapore will enter a recession this year, ‘significant uncertainty’ over duration and intensity: MAS