Chinese paddlers shine in Japan

China again proved its dominance in table tennis as its paddlers booked all the places in both the women¡¯s and men¡¯s singles finals at the 2007 Volkswagen Open in Chiba, Japan.

Resurgent veteran, Wang Nan reaffirmed that she is still in contention for the Olympics next year. A clean victory over new world champion Guo Yue sent the 29-year-old, who last month claimed the women¡¯s doubles title in the World Championships, to the final, where she will play teammate Guo Yan.

Guo Yan earned her place by ousting the only non-Chinese mainlander in the semis, Jiang Huajun of Hong Kong, who had earlier nailed world No.1 Zhang Yining in five sets.

In the men¡¯s singles, Chinese Ma Long beat South Korean Oh Sang Eun in straight sets to set up an all-Chinese final where he will play Wang Liqin or Wang Hao.

The game got off to a fast start with some high quality attacks giving Ma Long a 9-6 edge. But Oh hit back quickly and leveled the score at 9-9. Ma showed a cool head, eventually winning the opener 11-9, after which he was never threatened for the rest of the game.