Singapore settle for silver; first Olympic medal since independence

Peking University Gymnasium, Sunday, 17 August 2008 – China showed everyone why they are the reigning world table tennis champions, routing Singapore 3-0 in the inaugural Olympic women's team final, a best-of-five-matches contest.

The first match saw world number nine Feng Tian Wei of Singapore pitted against fifth-ranked Wang Nan. Feng won the first game 11-9, but any hope Singapore held of a victory quickly dissipated as Wang dispatched Feng in the subsequent three games 11-3, 11-8, 11-6.

The second match went much the same way, with Singapore's Li Jia Wei winning her first game 11-9, before bowing out to world number one Zhang Yi Ning 3-11, 4-11, 7-11.

It was up to doubles pair Li Jia Wei and Wang Yue Gu to keep the competition alive in the third match, but China's Guo Yue and Zhang Yi Ning were simply too strong, overcoming Li and Wang in straight games 11-8, 11-5, 11-6.

The Singapore team's loss to China does not detract from its achievement of a silver medal, the Republic's first Olympic medal since independence. The three team members received their medals from a beaming Ng Ser Miang, Executive Board Member of the International Olympic Council.

REDpoll