Top stars present Ryu with tall order

KOREAN teenager Ryu Ji-hye will be thrown into the lion's den when she takes on seven present or former Chinese table tennis aces in the Asian Women All Star tournament at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai on October 30 and 31.

Ryu, an 18-year-old who captured the youth world title this year, is the only player not of Chinese origin in the eight-strong field led by world numbers one and two - Deng Yaping and Qiao Hong.

She is also the lowest ranked player at 56 in the world, while her seven rivals are all in the top 20.

But the talented Korean should not be underestimated as she made the singles quarter-finals at the Asian Games at the expense of ex-Chinese international Jing Junhong, who is representing Singapore and will also be coming for the All Star.

Ryu yesterday won an Asian Games bronze medal with Park Hae-jung in women's doubles event. They beat Hong Kong's Chai Po-wa and Chan Tan-lui before being stopped by Deng and Qiao in the semi-finals.

Diminutive Deng, who stands at just 1.50 metres, is seeded to meet compatriot Qiao in an all-Chinese final but they will definitely not have it all their own way.