S’pore take six out of seven table tennis golds

August 04, 2014 00:00:00

GLASGOW: Gold medalists Dipika Pallikal (L) and Joshana Chinappa of India pose on the podium with their medals after winning the women\'s gold medal match in the Women\'s Doubles Squash competition at Scotstoun Sports Campus during the 2014 Commonwealth G

GLASGOW, Aug 3 (AFP): Singapore finished the Commonwealth Games with six table tennis golds out of a possible seven after Zhan Jian won the men's singles and Feng Tianwei secured her third gold of the Games with Yu Mengyu in the women's doubles.

Singapore's dominance of the sport was no surprise but second seed Zhan's win against Gao Ning, the top seed, in the final, came as a minor shock.

"I didn't have special strategies," said Zhan, who won 11-9, 11-2, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7.

"We are good friends and very close. We were both very conflicted because we're good friends. We wanted to play a non-Singaporean. But we also wanted to win more medals for Singapore.

"It was exciting but also painful because it was a long competition. It was a really stern test for us. But Gao is still the main man."

Gao was fought all the way in the semi-finals by England's Liam Pitchford and managed to recover from 3-2 down to claim the match. But injury to his hand upset his rhythm in the final.

Gao remained pleased for his countryman despite his own personal loss.

"We're basically at the same level," he said. "As long as the medals go to Singapore, then it's fine.

"Of course I wanted to win gold but the silver's not bad. I prepared well for the matches, especially for the semi-finals."

"I spent a lot of energy in the semi-finals against the English player. It was tough. I felt exhausted but I tried my best in the final. But in the end, the medals belong to Singapore."