China is still the king of Ping Pong or Table Tennis as Wang Hao, Ma Lin and Wang Liqin of the host nation beat Germany 3-0 to clinch the Table Tennis Men’s Team title. Korea took bronze again (Korean women’s team was also third yesterday).

Via Beijing 2008

Zhang Yining - World No.1 Table Tennis Player

Li Jiawei of Singapore

Zhang Yining, Guo Yue & Wang Nan of China beat Wang Yuegu, Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei of Singapore 3-0 to grab the Women’s Table Tennis Team gold at Peking University Gymnasium on 17th August 2008, the ninth day of the Beijing Olympics. Korea got bronze.

The first match saw Wang Nan winning Singapore’s Feng Tianwei 3-1. The second match proved that the World No. 1 Zhang Yining was still the real stuff after gaining composure and defeated Singapore’s Li Jiawei 3-1. In the doubles match, Zhang Yining and Guo Yue (World No. 2) played the game smartly to secure a 3-0 win.

Chinese President Hu Jintao was there to cheer the ladies on.

Although Singapore was second, this is the second Olympic silver medal after a 48-year drought. Wang Yuegu, Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei have done Singapore proud and as a Singaporean, I’m proud of you girls.

Via Beijing 2008

Can fashion and babes go in line with official Olympic sports in Beijing 2008? Donning a dress in high jump, going prom in still rings and dancing in table tennis are some of the ways to land you in the fashion limelight but not an Olympic gold medal.

Babes Photo Gallery

World Number 1 - Wang Hao

ITTF or International Table Tennis Federation has updated the table tennis world rankings list. The top 20 table tennis player automatically qualify for the Beijing Olympics table tennis event. However, only 2 from each country can qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The top 4 spots are all taken by Chinese players, Wang Hao, Ma Lin, Wang Liqing and Ma Long, with other spots taken by Germany, Belarus, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Austria and Russia players.

Gao Ning from Singapore is at the 10th position and is definitely one of the best bet to win Singapore a jade Olympic medal since 1960. Yep, it’s that long.

Via Beijing 2008

Oh, those cut-throat ping-pong players!

Chinese paddlers will try to underline their ping-pong domination and gain a psychological edge over their main rivals ahead of the Beijing Olympics in two year-end tournaments beginning this weekend in Beijing.

The annual ITTF Pro Tour Finals, which have seen 11 editions since 1996, will run from December 13-16 at the newly built Olympic venue, Peking University Gymnasium, the world’s first gymnasium specifically designed for table tennis.

The event features the top 16 singles and top 8 doubles men’s and women’s paddlers based on the results of 17 Pro Tour stops throughout the year.

Tomorrow will see a duel between China’s Wang Hao and South Korea’s Rye Seung-min, a rematch of the men’s singles finals at the 2004 Athens Games and 2007 World Cup.

Wang, currently the world No 2, lost the Olympic crown to the South Korean in a five-set thriller in Athens. But in October this year, the 24-year-old Chinese young gun avenged his Olympic loss by whitewashing Rye at the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in Barcelona, Spain.

“I am not very surprised with the draw results. We are very familiar with each other’s playing styles, but I have to prepare for a hard battle tomorrow,” said Wang after the draw ceremony yesterday.

“I really want to claim the championship at the Olympic venue before the 2008 Games.”

Via Xinhua

China local and foreign international brands are using the Beijing Olympics to increase profiles and getting their every sponsorship dollar worth. Only a handful of athletes are earning top dollars from endorsements and sponsorships. They are Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian (basketball), Guo Jingjing (diving), Liu Xiang (Track & Field, Athletics) and Wang Nan (Table Tennis), just to name a few.

The emergence of top athletes as spokespeople is happening as domestic brands are developing national or even global profiles and international brands are looking for ways to relate to Chinese customers.

So do they get unlimited supply of Coke?

Via BusinessWeek