Olympics – Men’s Events

Our team arrived in San Diego for a 10-day training camp August 26. The San Diego club is excellent and our stay at the Naval base was quite comfortable. We took off for Sydney on September 6, arriving early September 8. The Australians did a first-class job in all areas. The Olympic village housed 15,000 athletes and coaches, and it had a special atmosphere. The dining hall could seat 5,000 (!!) and the food was very good. The table tennis venue was excellent and the transportation was on time and only took ten minutes each way.

The opening ceremony was a highlight of the trip. It was awe inspiring to march into Olympic stadium waving our U.S. flags before 110,000 people. Can you imagine the roar when the Australians entered just after us? You couldn’t even speak to the person next to you. I had heard from Todd Sweeris and Bob Fox how amazing this night would be and it was true. It was an honor to be a part of the U.S. Team.

We quickly had to change gears because the doubles qualifying round started the next morning. Khoa Nguyen and Cheng Yinghua were seeded into the round robin groups, but Todd and David Zhuang had to play a qualifying match against a tough Egyptian team, Helmy and Lashin. I knew this would be difficult because I had watched Lashin defeat Grujic (Yugoslavia) at the World Championships in Holland. In the first game Dave and Todd were clicking – no chance for the Egyptians, 21-11. In the second game, Lashin – who had trouble with Todd’s loop – was relooping David’s pips-out loop consistently for winners. Dave & Todd lost 21-16. After some strategy discussion between games, I was worried. The third was close all the way and when Egypt took a 15-13 lead, I called a time out. At 16-14 David made three beautiful receives and we were ahead 17-16. Todd made a couple of loops and the U.S. wins 2-1.

In the doubles format the top eight teams were seeded out of the round robin stage. The remaining 24 teams were placed in eight groups of three. Todd and David drew a tough group (they were all strong groups), Karlsson/Hakansson (Sweden) and Samsonov/Chtchetinine (Belarus). Khoa and Cheng drew Matsushita/Shibutani (Japan) and Maze/Tugwell (Denmark). David and Todd are technically strong as a team. David returns well and Todd’s serves are top notch so I’m hoping they can compete. They are up first against European Champion Karlsson and this year’s U.S. Open Semifinalist Fredrik Hakansson.

What a start for the American duo. Todd starts serving and then David receives – boom, USA leads 9-1! The Swedes can’t recover. Hakansson is playing nervously and Karlsson is missing. The second game is critical because if we win 2-0 we will control the group. Todd starts well with a couple of beautiful receives and we’re up 5-3. Todd serves no-spin and Hakansson pops it up – an easy smash for David, only Karlsson makes an instinctive block-smash to startle both teams. Still we lead 8-7 when the Swedes call time out. I let the guys know that the Swedes will probably play deep, heavy pushes; be ready. At 8-7 the Swedish duo do exactly that. David & Todd struggle and miss several shots. Major momentum switch; our team never recovers and Karlsson & Hakansson win 2-1. Moral victory in the fact that we were right there, but in the Olympics getting it done is what it’s all about. Tough loss but they’re still in it.

Later that afternoon Khoa & Cheng take on Mikael Maze & Finn Tugwell from Denmark. These two qualified at the European qualifiers so you know they are formidable. Mikael Maze is 19 years old and had several excellent wins in the European Championship team event this past Spring. You could put an "A" in the front of his name for "Amaze." He truly is an amazing talent. In the doubles match he did it all – flips, forehand-backhand loop kills, great serves – Khoa & Cheng couldn’t keep up with this lefty-righty pair and lost convincingly 2-0.

In round two of the round robin Khoa, who has trouble with chop, can’t read the changes of spin from Matsushita & Shibutani and again they are defeated easily and are out of the competition. David and Todd next play Samsonov and his chopper partner Chtchetinine (who defeated Karlsson at this year’s U.S. Open). In the first, David is having all kinds of trouble with Chtchetinine’s chop. These early mistakes cost the Americans game one, 21-14. Samsonov is so smooth and effortless – no wasted motion. I guess that’s why he’s #3 in the world. In the second game Todd is looping well and David is moving the ball around on this chopper/blocker world-class team. We lead the whole second game – 12-8, 14-11,16-14, 18-17. A couple of looping errors by Todd and the Belarus pair wins 2-0.

Hakansson & Karlsson win their group 2-0 over Samsonov & Chtchetinine, staging a comeback from down 11-19 in game one to win 25-23. In Khoa/Cheng’s group, Maze/Tugwell pull off a major upset, beating Shibutani/Matsushita easily at 13,10. In other group doubles play Eloi/Legout (France), down 1-0 and 20-18 in the second match point to Canada’s Johnny Huang and Kurt Liu, come back to win 2-1.

Kong/Liu vs. Blaszczyk/Krzeszewski is the match of this round. Lucjan Blaszczyk dominates the games with his powerful loops and counterloops. The Poles lead 2-1 and 10-4. Can it be? At this crucial moment Tomasz Krzeszewski makes several errors and Kong/Liu win game four. In game five again Blaszczyk is hot and they lead 18-16 – once again the pressure gets to Tomasz as he misses an easy one 18-17. Krzeszewski now has to receive Liu’s awesome serves and he fails. Kong/Liu win 18 in the 5th and avert the tournament’s first big upset.

Sweden’s Jorgen Persson/Jan-Ove Waldner get blown out of the water by France’s Damien Eloi/Christophe Legout, 3-0, and the other Swedish team loses 3-1 to France’s Patrick Chila/Jean-Philippe Gatien. So the powerhouse Swedes, not known for their doubles play, both bow out in round one.

In the quarterfinals, China’s Kong Linghui/Liu Guoliang win easily over Korea’s Kim Taek Soo/Oh Sang Eun, and China’s Wang Liqin/Yan Sen dominate Eloi/Legout 3-0. The other two matches were dogfights. The Taipei team of Chiang Peng-Lung/Chang Yuan-Su vs. Korea’s Lee Chul Seung/Yoo Seung Min was won by Korea, 3-2. Austria’s Werner Schlager/Kark Jindrak vs. Gatien/Chila was an incredible match. The Austrians led 2-0 and 16-9, only to lose the third. The French pair won the fourth, but Schlager/Jindrak led 10-4 in the fifth, only to go down 20-17. Three great points later, it’s deuce. This match is basically for the bronze medal so the tension is palpable. The Olympics are about the glory of the winners but also more often the agony of the losers. At 20-20 the teams are looping each other’s loops when Gatien re-loops an extreme angle that Schlager can’t handle. Another French loop that Jindrak nervously blocks off the end and ecstasy and agony are splattered all over court three. The Austrians surely let a bronze medal get away.

The semifinals were easy affairs for the Chinese teams, leading to an all-Chinese final. Kong/Liu defeated Gatien/Chila, 12,-22,10,10; Wang/Yan defeated Lee/Yoo, 12,19,-17,18.

The bronze medal match between Korea and France was an even battle as the first three games all went deuce, with Gatien/Chila going up 2-1. In the fourth, the Koreans Seung/Yoo make several errors early and lose 21-10. Gatien/Chila win the bronze medal for France. I was rooting for Gatien, whose father passed away unexpectedly in July. When he won the match Jean-Philippe looked up as if to say, "This is for you, Dad."

In the gold medal match the lefty-righty pair of Wang Liqin/Yan Sen pull off the 3-1 upset over 1996 Olympic Champions Kong/Liu. The key to this match was the steady topspin play of World #1 Wang and the quick footwork of Yao. China wins gold and silver, France the bronze.

All round robin groups were 3-player, best-of-5 matches. David Zhuang and Cheng Yinghua represented the U.S. in singles play here in Sydney. David drew a tough group. David beat Ashraf Helmy from Egypt, 3-1. This match was an easy victory even though David lost the third game. Helmy was just not consistent enough to stay in the match. Joerg Rosskopf, bronze medalist in Atlanta, was the top seed in David’s group. David had a good start in this match, leading 12-8 in the first. Then Rosskopf scored 10 in a row and never looked back. Joerg was spinning the ball deep into David’s backhand and returning all of David’s opening attacks. David also had trouble scoring off his own serve and this added up to a 3-0 comfortable win for Rosskopf as he wins the group and advances to the single elimination stage.

Cheng is also seeded 2nd in his group, and he easily dispatches Francisco Arado (Cuba) 3-0 and next faces Seiko Iseki (Japan). Seiko defeated Liu Guoliang (World #3) in this year’s U.S. Open at Ft. Lauderdale, so you know the guy can play. Cheng starts well and wins the first 21-16. Cheng is blocking too much in the second, and Iseki wins 21-16, though Cheng had his chances to go up 2-0. In the third, at 15-all, Cheng misses a couple of makeable forehands to go down 2-1. In the fourth Cheng is quickly down 7-2 when I call a time out. I told Cheng that he needed to abandon the safe blocking strategy and attack everything. This seemed to work as Cheng scored several winners to close to 9-11. It wasn’t enough and Cheng loses 3-1.

Gao Jun, Bill Gates and Michelle Do. Copyright 2000 by Sheri Pittman.

Bill Gates of Microsoft was in attendance for Cheng’s match, and seemed to enjoy it. He came back a couple more times to the table tennis venue to view the action.

16 seeded players and 16 group winners are the players in the 32-man draw. In round one, #6 seed Werner Schlager is in deep trouble, losing games one & two to Danny Heister (Netherlands) at 13 and 8. Heister’s control topspin is giving the Austrian fits. In game three it’s all Heister until 11-7, when Schlager’s coach calls a timeout. What a valuable break in the action these timeouts can be as Schlager came back renewed and won game three at 19. He also wins a close fourth game, 21-19, and now Heister has lost his momentum and soon the match, 3-2.

Joerg Rosskopf from Germany wins a tough 3-2 match over Sweden’s Peter Karlsson. Karlsson is the current European champion and he’s out in round one. Timo Boll from Germany upset longtime great player and #9 seed Kim Taek Soo, 3-1. The big upset is #8 Zoran Primorac losing 3-0 to Toshio Tasaki of Japan. Zoran, down 18-11 in game one, comes back to get the ad 21-20, only to lose 25-23. After this game Zoran, who’s not looping his trademark backhand at all, plays poorly and loses 3-0. Big win for Tasaki and another weak performance by "Zokie" in the Olympic tournament. Other matches of note – Iseki gives Waldner fits before losing 3-1, Liu Guozheng gets by Philippe Saive 3-2, Jean-Michael Saive avenges his loss to Korbel in Atlanta 3-0, and Blaszczyk beats 1992 silver medallist Gatien easily, 3-0.

The fireworks begin. Kong Linghui is down 7-4 in the fifth against Lucjan Blaszczyk (POL) before righting the ship to win 21-14 and 3-2. Kong looked shaky this match but in the middle of the fifth game he took over.

Werner Schlager vs. Timo Boll; veteran against young upstart. Timo is in control and leads 2-1. As we’ve seen at the U.S. Open when Schlager beat Waldner and Samsonov, Schlager is a master of the comeback as he turns Timo into a blocker in games four & five and wins 21-16 in the fifth. Sweden’s Jorgen Persson mows down Japan’s Koji Matsushita 3-0, and Liu Guozheng looks good in upsetting #4 seed Taiwan’s Chiang Peng-Lung 3-0.

China’s Liu Guoliang, the gold medallist in Atlanta, is in deep trouble versus France’s Damien Eloi. Eloi wins the first two games, and it’s 20-all in the third. I thought this would be a good time for Eloi to call a time out to let Liu think about the situation he was in; two points from elimination. But it’s not to be as Liu wins game three, 22-20, and games four & five at 9 and 13. Liu is on to the quarters. Rosskopf takes care of Tasaki in five hard-fought games and Waldner continues to march on with a 3-1 victory over former long-time nemesis Jean-Michel Saive. Samsonov, the #2, seed cruises past France’s Christophe Legout, 3-0.

Kong Linghui (CH) vs. Werner Schlager (AUT): Schlager leads two games to one. Probably a bad sign for the Austrian because he usually comes from behind. Kong plays awesome and eliminates Schlager, winning games four & five easily, and the match at 14, -13, -20, 10, 14.

Jorgen Persson (SWE) vs. Liu Guozheng (CHN): The real question here is how will the young Chinese star handle the pressure if Persson pushes him. Answer: not very well. Liu leads 1-0 and 16-12 when Jorgen blasts one of his awesome backhand kills and the match changes momentum as Persson ties it up 1-1. In games three & four Jorgen plays with poise, and he’s moving really well for a veteran and Liu is playing nervously. Lethal combination as Jorgen moves on, -14, 18, 16, 19.

Liu Guoliang (CHN) vs. Joerg Rosskopf (GER): Liu dispatches Rosskopf with such ease and certainty that there’s no doubt: 11, 14, 7.

Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE) vs. Vladimir Samsonov (BLR): Two heavyweights, and either one of them could win the gold medal here. Waldner leads 18-12 in the first when he misses an easy forehand and has a nervous look about this shot, like: "Oh no, I can’t afford to miss that one." Sure enough, he blows game one, 22-20. In game two, Samsonov is buoyed by the Waldner meltdown in game one and he plays super to lead 2-0. In game three, Samsonov is playing a control game, moving Waldner around and waiting for errors. Only they don’t come. J-O raises his level of play and wins games three & four at 14 and 18 to tie up the match, 2-2. In game five, Samsonov starts to press the attack but he’s been passive too long, and Waldner controls the fifth and leads 20-17. But two good points for Vladimir, and it’s 20-19. The stands are quiet, Waldner attacks the middle, and Samsonov hesitates and misses. The King moves on, and the heir apparent is gone, -20, -18, 14, 17, 19.

Kong Linghui (CHN) vs. Jorgen Persson (SWE): Kong starts well and controls game one, 21-12, but Persson rallies to win the second, 21-13. In the third, Jorgen is up 8-4 when he hits the wall and never recovers. Kong is just too much for him. It seems that nobody can slow down Kong’s forehand express, and Jorgen has no answer as he loses at 12, -13, 16, 13, and Kong moves into the gold medal match. Jorgen, one of the nicest guys in table tennis, is visibly upset at the loss, but he’ll have to settle for a bronze medal match with the loser of Liu-Waldner.

Liu Guoliang (CHN) vs. Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE): Two of the great champions in table tennis history. What a match-up. The crowd is slightly for Waldner. I think most people don’t want to see an all-Chinese final, so come on J-O!! He doesn’t disappoint. J-O mixes the timing beautifully and returns Liu’s serve with ease. Liu plays great but misses many smashes that look makeable. J-O advances to the final with a close three-gamer over Liu Guoliang, 19, 16, 19.

Liu Guoliang (CHN) vs. Jorgen Persson (SWE): In the World Team Championships in Malaysia, Jorgen won the deciding match over Liu to give Sweden the title. Here in Sydney Liu plays much better, and Jorgen does not seem to be playing the long tactics that worked so well in previous matches against Liu. Did he not watch or remember those tactics? As a consequence, Liu wins easily, 18, -19, 14, 13, and takes the bronze medal to go along with his silver in Men’s Doubles.

Left: Kong Linghui. Right: Jan-Ove Waldner. Copyright 2000 by John Oros.

Kong Linghui (CHN) vs. Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE): Normally Kong has trouble with Waldner’s serve and this usually gives J-O the edge in this match-up of titans. Kong’s forehand is unstoppable and Waldner must stay away from it to win. Kong starts well and he has very little problem receiving J-O’s serve. Kong wins a close game one and controls game two to go up 2-0 in games. Does Waldner have anything left? I didn’t think he could come back against Samsonov and he did. Waldner, arguably the best player of all time, does have something left and he is hitting winners right and left as he wins games three & four comfortably. On to game five for the gold.

Kong starts off with his backhand serve and leads 3-0 and 4-1. At the change J-O takes over serve and he misses a couple of easy ones. Pressure? No doubt. Unthinkable as J-O loses all five on his serve and is in a huge hole, 9-1. 10-1 at the turn. It’s over – or is it? J-O has one last run in him and Kong is visibly nervous. Waldner climbs back to 12-15, but misses a couple of hangers. Kong holds on and is the deserving winner of the gold medal here in Sydney. China, after poor Olympic performances in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992, put their stamp of dominance on the sport in Atlanta and again here in Sydney. China wins four gold, three silver and one bronze. The other medalists: Sweden, one silver; France, Taiwan and Korea each win one bronze.