International Olympic Committee : News

China bag maximum medal haul - London 2012 - Table Tennis

8/9/2012 12:00:00 AM

Since the sport was added to the schedule at Seoul 1988, the Asian powerhouse's superiority has grown with every Games.

Not since Swede Jan-Ove Waldner, who emerged victorious at Barcelona 1992, has Europe produced a gold medallist. Even other Asian nations, where the sport is as popular, cannot reach the same standard as China.

The most notable statistic is that China have now won 24 of the 28 Table Tennis gold medals on offer after delivering a second successive clean sweep in London.

Li Xiaoxia and Zhang Jike won the women's and men's Singles respectively, beating compatriots Ding Ning and Wang Hao in their finals.

The haul was completed as their two Team entries - the women's was comprised of Li, Ding and Guo Yue and the men's Zhang, Wang and Ma Long - also sealed the ultimate prize.

Following Beijing 2008, when China scooped every Singles medal on offer, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) reduced the amount of players countries could enter into the Singles to two.

The change mattered little as a maximum medal haul of four golds and two silvers was delivered by China's representatives in London.

It seems Dimitrij Ovtcharov may be the man most likely to break the pattern.

The German won two bronze medals in London, one in the Singles and another alongside Timo Boll and Bastian Steger in the men's Team event.

There is also a new wave of impressive Japanese players, epitomised by Kasumi Ishikawa, Sayaka Hirano and Ai Fukuhara taking silver in the women's Team format.

That was Japan's first Olympic medal in the sport, though it will surely represent the first of many.

ITTF president Adham Sharara said: 'What has amazed me is that from the first day until the end, there has not been one session that is not full.

'That is really amazing; I do not know if it is the spirit of the Games or what, but it has been very impressive.

'We actually have a better feeling now than we did after Beijing because more new people have seen our sport.'

Li edges out Ding to claim gold - London 2012 - Table Tennis

8/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Much of the focus heading into the battle was on 22-year-old Ding, who last year won the World Cup and World Championships.

That meant she needed to emerge victorious at the Games to complete a Grand Slam, following in the footsteps of the great Zhang Yining.

But world number three and second seed Li had other ideas, with the 24-year-old's added power proving too much for Ding, who had to settle for silver after losing a tense encounter 4-1 (11-8, 14-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4).

Singapore's Feng Tianwei scooped her second medal by overcoming Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa to take bronze.

Feng prevailed 4-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3), adding to the Team silver won alongside Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu in Beijing 2008.

Li said afterwards: 'I'm very excited. This has been my dream since being a little girl. I dreamed of being an Olympic champion.

'We are the same level but today I performed better than I expected.'

China guaranteed one more gold - London 2012 - Table Tennis

8/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Li set up a final with compatriot Ding Ning in the women's Singles.

The nation has thus far claimed more top prizes than anyone else at the Games, with Table Tennis always likely to add to their haul.

Some expect they will claim the four golds available - something that looks all the more realistic now.

Much like her compatriot Ding, Li has encountered few problems in reaching Wednesday's final and had too much for Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa.

It means whatever happens China will continue their astonishing record of claiming every women's Singles medal since the sport was added to the Olympics schedule at Seoul 1988.

Ding was favoured before the event to win, but Li will no doubt be confident following her dominant effort today.

While her compatriot was challenged by Feng Tianwei of Singapore, eventually winning 4-2, Li was in charge for much of her 4-1 triumph against Ishikawa.

In the men's competition, Taiwan's Chuang Chih-Yuan admitted he had mixed emotions after overcoming best friend Adrian Crisan.

Chuang and Romanian Crisan share a bond off the table, but met on it for a place in the last four of the Singles at the ExCeL Arena.

Despite the attachment, Chuang was ruthless as he dominated Crisan, who pulled off a shock yesterday night by knocking out fourth seed Timo Boll.

Indeed, Chuang was in charge throughout, wrapping up a straight-games victory in just 20 minutes.

'He is my best friend,' said Chuang afterwards. 'I was sorry when I played him.'

Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Denmark's Michael Maze then battled out a seven-game thriller.

The former looked comfortable in moving into a 2-0 lead, with his opponent being yellow carded at one stage for showing his frustration.

However, Maze composed himself and, playing with extra power, reaped rewards from forcing the German on to his backhand to level matters.

They then took a game apiece, after which Ovtcharov edged the decider 11-9, much to the dismay of Maze's legion of fans.

Half of the quarter-final games were completed, with Chinese stars Zhang Jike and Wang Hao in action tomorrow morning.

Veterans shine at ExCeL - London 2012 - Table Tennis

7/28/2012 12:00:00 AM

Belgium's Jean-Michel Saive and Sweden's Jorgen Persson know only too well what the world's biggest sporting event entails.

Indeed, the duo - much like Croatia's Zoran Primorac, who enters in round two - have competed in every Games that Table Tennis has been part of, seven in total dating back to Seoul 1988.

In the process, Saive - who has won medals in every major event except the Olympics - equalled the Belgian record for the most appearances at the Games.

To make the occasion doubly special, Francois Lafortune Jr - an 79-year-old former shooter whose feat he has matched - watched on as his countryman emerged victorious in an Olympic Games encounter for the first time since Sydney 2000.

Swede Persson, who claimed gold at the World Championships 21 years ago, did not let the fans down either, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Nigerian Segun Toriola.

Despite previously being All-African Singles champion for 16 successive years starting in 1995, Toriola did not command the same level of support as compatriot Quadri Aruna.

In a theatrical performance, Aruna got the crowd on side and eventually produced the day's biggest shock, knocking out Spain's Carlos Machado, who is ranked 80th in the world, 156 places higher than his opponent.

In a round of surprises, India's Soumyajit Ghosh toppled Gustavo Tsuboi, of Brazil, and Egypt's El-Sayed Lashin overcame Sweden's Par Gerell.

Home favourite Paul Drinkhall gave the crowd something to cheer by beating Kuwait's Ibrahem Al-Hasan, while, at the same time, Oleksandr Didukh made hard work of edging past Marcelo Aguirre 4-3.

Meanwhile, in the women's competition, Poland's Natalia Partyka finished off a fantastic opening day of action by edging a thriller against Denmark's Mie Skov 4-3.

Partyka, born without a right hand and forearm, has claimed Singles gold at the last two Paralympic Games and, much like Beijing, will compete in both versions this year.

She excited the crowd late into the night at the ExCeL Arena, sealing a brilliant victory in a quite astonishing encounter at 10:48pm.

Half of the second round in the women's Singles event was completed, with the final eight games to take place tomorrow morning.

Singapore 2010 adopts new sport formats

8/12/2010 3:39:00 PM

The first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore will feature all 26 sports currently on the programme of the London 2012 Olympic Games. What will differ in some cases are the disciplines and format, such as 3 on 3 street basketball, a mixed gender relay in the swimming pool, a medley relay on the track or events in which athletes from different National Olympic Committees compete on the same team. Read on to see what your favourite sports will consist of in Singapore...

Aquatics (diving and swimming)

Aquatics comprises diving and swimming. There will be two diving events for both men and women, 3m springboard and 10m platform. Swimming events include freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and medley, both individual and relay. As a first, a mixed gender event for 4 x 100m freestyle relay and 4 x 100m medley relay is included.

Archery

Archery will feature individual men, women and mixed team competitions. The distance that athletes will be shooting is 70m.

Athletics

Athletics comprises a total 36 events for both men and women. The track events will include 1000m and 3000m races as well as a 2000m steeplechase and a medley relay. There will be eight field events (four jumps and four throws).

Badminton

Badminton will feature men’s and women’s singles events in Singapore.

Basketball

Basketball 3 on 3 will be played at the YOG. There will be two teams of three players on court at any one time. This fast-paced game is played on a half court, with one basketball hoop. It includes two periods of five minutes each. The winner is the first team to score 33 points, or the team that is leading the game at the end of the fifteen minutes of play.

Boxing

Boxing will feature men’s events. There will be 11 different weight categories, ranging from 48kg to the 91kg+ division.

Canoe-Kayak

Canoe-Kayak will feature four events for men and two for women. Both will race
in head-to-head sprints and obstacle slaloms in the kayak category. The men will also compete in the same events in canoes.

Cycling

The Cycling competition will involve teams. Each team consists of three men and one woman. The three men are required to compete in one discipline each (BMX, MTB and Time Trial), while the woman has to compete in all three disciplines. All male riders also have to compete in the Road Race.

Equestrian

In Equestrian, only the jumping events will take place (team and individual). The Organising Committee will provide the horses, which will be assigned to riders by draw. For the team event, there will be six teams representing each FEI regional zone.

Fencing

Fencing will feature individual competitions in the foil, epée and sabre for men and women, and a mixed team competition.

Football

Football will consist of a six-team competition, representing all continents, for both men and women.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is split into artistic and rhythmic, as in the Olympic Games. The artistic competition will feature eight individual men’s events and six individual women’s events. The rhythmic competition consists of two events – individual and team – for women.

Handball

Handball is a six-team tournament, representing all continents, for men and for women.

Hockey

Hockey is the same as football and handball – a six-team competition, representing all continents for both men and women.

Judo

There are a total of eight weight categories for both men and women in the Judo competition. There is also a mixed team event.

Modern Pentathlon

The Modern Pentathlon competition consists of four of the five modern pentathlon disciplines: fencing, swimming, running and shooting. The fifth discipline, riding, will not be competed at Singapore 2010. The run-shoot format will be competed. In the Combined event, laser shooting is being used for the first time.

Rowing

Both the men and women will compete in two events in Rowing – single sculls and pairs.

Sailing

The Sailing competition comprises four events, with men and women sailing in either the one person dinghy or the windsurfing.

Shooting

In Shooting, the men and women will compete in both air rifle and air pistol.

Table Tennis

Table tennis will consist of men’s singles, women’s singles and a mixed team competition.

Taekwondo

Taekwondo will see athletes competing in five weight categories per gender.

Tennis

There will be both men’s singles and doubles and women’s singles and doubles in the Tennis tournament.

Triathlon

The Triathlon competition format for individual competitions includes a 750m swim in open water, a 20km cycle ride and a 5km run. The 4 x mixed team relay competition includes a 250m swim in open water, a 7km cycle ride and a 1.7km run.

Volleyball

Volleyball is a six-team men’s and women’s competition.

Weightlifting

Weightlifting sees men competing in six weight categories, while women will compete in five weight categories. The combined results of the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk will produce the champion of each weight category.

Wrestling

The Wrestling competition will see men compete in Greco-Roman (five weight categories) and freestyle (five weight categories) and women in freestyle (four weight categories).