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S. Korea upset China 3-2 to make women's final
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-08-29 09:56

SEOGWIPO, South Korea, August 28 -- Defending champions China missed the women's team final at the Asian Table Tennis championships for the first time in 13 years after suffering a 3-2 upset by South Korea on Sunday.

World number two Niu Jianfeng lost both her games, beaten 3-1 by Moon Hyun Jung, the new star from the hosts, in the opening game of the team event and losing 3-0 to Kim Kyung Ah in the fifth to complete China's woes at the semis.

Guo Yue lost the second game against Kim Kyung Ah before her older teammate Guo Yan stemmed the losing skid with a win in the third. Guo Yue then made up her loss with a fourth-game victory over Moon Hyun Jung to level the sets at 2-all.

"There's no excuse for our defeat, but weak nerve," said Lu Yuansheng, the head coach of Chinese women's national team. "I think Niu Jianfeng was intimated by the tension of the competition right into her first match against Moon Hyun Jung."

"And the South Koreans did play smarter than us. They didn't change their lineup but put Moon Hyun Jung in the first game against meet Niu Jianfeng and left a defensive player (Kim Kyung Ah) for Guo Yue to face in the second game," he added.

Guo Yue, who is deemed to be at underdog position against defensive players, could have helped China shorten the fight with a possible comeback win of the second game.

She rallied to tie Kim Kyung Ah 2-2 before two errors from the world number five by the end of her fifth set ruled out China's chance of leveling the match on 1-1.
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