Chinese Taipei Open

Korea For The Second Consecutive Week

Sunday, June 19, 2005

ITTF Press Release:

The two players who contested the final of the Men’s Singles event at the TMS Chinese Taipei Open on Sunday 19th June 2005, Austria’s CHEN Weixing the number three seed, and Korea’s LEE Jung Woo, the number fourteen seed, had met on one former occasion in World Ranking events and that had been very recently.

In fact the contest had been at the previous ITTF Pro Tour tournament, the Volkswagen Open Korea, when in five games LEE Jung Woo had prevailed in the round of the last sixteen.

Express
An exciting player, to say the least, LEE Jung Woo started like an express train; no doubt full of confidence as a result of his previous week’s success. He won the first game in style but CHEN Weixing has vast reservoirs of experience and when a contest is close then he’s in his element and so it proved in the second game, he succeeded 13-11.

Perhaps, the success of CHEN Weixing in the second game had put some doubts into the mind of LEE Jung Woo and CHEN Weixing was playing `out of his skin’. The scores in the third game reached 9-all; scintillating table tennis; then game point to Korean and duly converted with a rapier-like forehand topspin drilled into the body of the Austrian.

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The match was a tremendous advertisement for table tennis and the crowd revelled in the entertainment provided by two exciting players; there was no abatement of the thrilling play in the fourth game with the watershed coming at 6-all. LEE Jung Woo won the next two points; it was the cushion he needed to give him confidence and he duly won the game 11-7.

Coach, YOO Nam Kyu sat upright in his chair courtside, watching the encounter and perhaps was watching how he played twenty years ago; the first ever Olympic Men’s Singles champion also being a left handed penhold grip attacking player, just like LEE Jung Woo.

Fifth Game
In the fifth game the Korean went ahead 3-1; CHEN Weixing called `Time Out’; LEE Jung Woo returned to speak to YOO Nam Kyu whilst CHEN Weixing stood alone in the corner of the court; he had no adviser, his team mate, Robert GARDOS, who had helped him in the semi-final against OH Sang Eun was on his way to the airport.

The advice from YOO Nam Kyu was obviously good advice and the advice was no doubt that he had to keep spinning the ball, be patient, concentrate on the backhand, play a drop shot now and again and when the chance arose bury the ball into the court surrounds.

LEE Jung Woo duly obliged, he won the game 11-3 with CHEN Weixing jumping over the barriers on the last point in true exhibition style.

OH Sang Eun, the compatriot of LEE Jung Woo, had won a Men’s Singles event on the ITTF Pro Tour for the first time in his career one week earlier in Suncheon, this week at the TMS Chinese Taipei Open, the man standing on the highest step of the medal rostrum was, LEE Jung Woo; TMS Chinese Taipei Open Men’s Singles Champion 2005. It was a second success for Korea within a period of seven days.

LEE Jung Woo (SIN) bt CHEN Weixing (AUT) 11-4, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3

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