Gao Ning was stunned when he lost the opening game to 314th ranked Liam Pitchford but he came back to secure the winning point by beating Paul Drinkhall 3-1. (Photo 1 courtesy of CWG/SSC)
India, Saturday, October 9, 2010 — Singapore beat England 3-1 to capture the men’s table tennis team gold for the first time at the Commonwealth Games.
Gao Ning, ranked 17th in the world, unexpectedly lost 2-3 to England’s Liam Pitchford, who is only ranked 314th in the world. Gao Ning won the first two games 11-4, 11-6 but then lost the next three 8-11, 9-11, 11-13.
However, his teammates Yang Zi and Ma Liang won the next two ties by identical 3-1 scorelines to give Gao Ning a chance to redeem himself. He survived a first-set loss to Paul Drinkhall to eventually wrap up the gold with a 3-1 win (9-11, 11-9, 11-1, 11-7).
Gao Ning acknowledged the role of his teammates in securing the gold.
“The pressure was on the team to come back back fighting after we went down in the first game. It was going to be an uphill battle after that but I knew we would fight all the way to the end. I am glad I made it up by winning the final game,” said Gao Ning.
“It was a battle from the start to the end. They never made it easy for us at all. But it’s good that our boys stuck to the battle plan and fought all the way to the end. Victory was sweet for all of us but credit to England for putting up a good fight,” said head coach Yang Chuanning.
Table Tennis Men’s Team Final – Singapore vs England (Detailed Match Results)
Yang Zi celebrates a point in his game against Paul Drinkhall which he eventually won 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-1). (Photo 2 courtesy of CWG/SSC)
The gold-medal winning Singapore table tennis men’s team (from left to right): Cai Xiaoli, Ma Liang, Yang Zi, Gao Ning, Xue Jie Pang. (Photo 3 courtesy of CWG/SSC)
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