bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Unus Alladin

'If we reach the semi-finals, we can secure a medal for HK'

Hong Kong's top-ranked doubles pair of Li Ching and Ko Lai-chak have been given a favourable draw as the SAR seek glory at this week's World Championships in Shanghai.

The Athens heroes have been seeded fourth in men's doubles, which means they avoid China's top seeds until the semi-finals, boosting their hopes of winning another prestigious medal after their silver in the Greek capital last year.

Hong Kong men's coach Chan Kong-wah was hopeful of an SAR victory in their strongest event after the pair rose  to top spot in the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) world ranking list.

Chan said: 'The draw for the men's doubles is quite good. If things go according to plan, we will most likely face Athens' bronze medallist, Michael Maze and Finn Tugwell from Denmark in the quarter-finals, or Germany's Boll Timo and Christian Suss.

'Although they are strong European teams, we have beaten them more than they have beaten us. If we reach the semi-finals, we can secure a medal for Hong Kong.'

Because Li and Ko are seeded fourth, they will avoid China's top three seeds until the last four.

Li was confident of doing well in the event, saying: 'We will meet Olympic doubles champions Chen Qi and Ma Lin in the semi-finals if we progress to that stage without any problems. We want revenge because they beat us in Athens for the gold medal. It's our chance to turn the tables.'

Li and Ko must first reach the semi-finals but they will receive their first real test when they play   Maze and Tugwell, who are seeded to beat Germany's Boll and Suss.

Li said: 'We have played Boll and Suss three times before and won twice. We are confident of beating them again. We haven't played the Danes before. However, we still have the confidence to win.'

Li and Ko will play Norway's Geir Erlandsen and Wang Jianfeng in the first round. A win will mean they will play either Hungary's Janos Jakab and Daniel Zwickl or Croatia's Zoran Primorac and Roko Tosic in the next round.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's women also had a good draw with coach  Li Huifen saying they have a strong chance  in the the women's doubles.

'Tie Yana and Zhang Rui, Lau Sui-fei and Song Ah-sim are seeded fourth and fifth respectively. The two Hong Kong pairs are drawn to meet in the quarter-finals. That means Hong Kong are guaranteed a medal if both pairs reach that stage,' said the coach.

Unlike at the Olympics, bronze medals are automatically handed to the losing semi-finalists in each of the five events.

Tie and Zhang may face Taiwan's Huang I-hwa and Lu Yun-feng in the early stage of doubles while Song and Lau are projected to play Russia's Ganina Svetlana and Paulina Irina.

Tie was also given a good draw in the singles. The recent Asian Cup champion meets Jacqueline Lee of the United States in the first round and will play either Italy's Nicoletta Stefanova or a qualifier in the next round. She has been drawn in the same group as Japan's Umemura Aya, who will be her first big test in the competition.

Ko, Li and Leung Chu-yan have been drawn against qualifiers in the  men's singles. Ko will face either Denmark's Allan Bentsen or Russia's Alexei Liventsov. He may face China's Wang Linqin or Korea's Pak Won-choi in the third round.

Li will play either Brazil's Hugo Hoyama or Austria's Chen Weixing in the second round. Leung, Hong Kong's top singles hope, meets Frenchman Christophe Legout or a qualifier in the second round.



Athens heroes seek world glory