The boring men's team gold medal match is on and i need something else to occupy me, so i'll write this light overview of the first round of the women's singles competition. I probably won't do this again unless i'm similarly bored later.
My network hasn't been running as fast as i'd like so i wasn't able to watch all four matches simultaneously, but i'll give little bits about what i saw. Unless otherwise noted, all players are right handed shakehanders.
YANG Fen (CGO) #240
vs
HUANG Crystal (USA) #230
A bonus picture of yang because her hair is so awesome. Crystal is the player i know the most about, having seen her play many times in domestic competition. This was also the closest match of the round, with the righty penholder (yang) beating the lefty penholder 4-2. I was rooting for crystal but i don't think the tone of the match went the way she wanted. However i don't mind seeing that amazing hair again. Yang will play one of the young up and coming romanians next round, elizabeta samara.
PAN Li-Chun (TPE) #105
vs
ABDUL-AZIZ Shaimaa (EGY) #485
One of several blowouts this round, i didn't bother watching beyond a couple points. Abdul-aziz managed to get 11 points . . . over the course of the entire match. Pan's next opponent is melek hu of turkey.
PESOTSKA Margaryta (UKR) #106
vs
SHUMAKOVA Marina (KAZ) #433
Shumakova, a lefty, managed to put up a fight but was outclassed by pesotska 4-0. Notable about shumakova is not just her incredible ducky hair, but also her resemblance to biba golic at times. She has a US rating of about 2200 which seems about right; comparing her level to shaimaa abdul-aziz above shows how different the level of play can be at these world rankings. Pesotska will play fang zhu of spain in the next round.
MIAO Miao (AUS) #144
vs
OFFIONG Cecilia (NGR) #376
I thought miao was cruising and even laying off a bit so i didn't watch closely, though offiong managed to get to deuce in the fourth game. Miao's next opponent is chopper irina kotikhina of russia.
LIAN Qian (DOM) #190
vs
FOMUM Victorine (CMR) Unranked (#776)
Fomum is unranked but her last world ranking was 776. Easily the worst player in the competition, she sports a US rating of 1891 but that might be generous as we've never seen her win a match. I believe she uses anti on the backhand but ironically her nickname is "power". I hope she and her coach had fun, and i hope nobody else saw this match. Lian was merciful, allowing fomum to get 15 total points. Lian's next opponent is komwong nanthana of thailand.
PASKAUSKIENE Ruta (LTU) #100
vs
NONAKA Mariany (BRA) #319
Paskauskiene, with her ever-changing but always super-long last name, always seems to be a consistent but not outstanding performer. I do like that she does more than the generic pendulum serves. Nonaka put up a decent fight and is still young, but unfortunately doesn't look like she's capable of raising her game. Paskauskiene won 4-0 and will face kim mi yong (north korea) next.
ZHANG Mo (CAN) #157
vs
MEDINA Paula (COL) #290
Having seen zhang mo play several times, it looked like she was winning easily so i didn't really watch this one. Apparently medina was able to adjust and play better in the third and fourth games but zhang still won 4-0. Zhang's next opponent is veteran chopper tatyana kostromina of belarus.
HADACOVA Dana (CZE) #215
vs
SHABAN Zeina (JOR) #309
Their rankings aren't that far apart, but jordan's young flag bearer would seem to need a lot more work before she'll reach hadacova's level. I think hadacova won 4-0; she'll play veronika pavlovich of belarus in the next round.
LONG Judy (CAN) #239
vs
RAMOS Fabiola (VEN) #261
Long has had surprising (to me) longevity, having never been a great player but sticking it out for team canada at age 39 after younger, better players have quit. I've never seen ramos play before; i was impressed with her attitude as well as how she struck the ball. Ramos won in a minor upset, i believe 4-1, and will play kim jong of north korea next.
SOROCHYNSKAYA Tetyana (UKR) #126
vs
YOSSRY Noha (EGY) #622
Is sorochynskaya a chopper or not? I think so, but her opponent was so weak she was smashing and looping from both sides. Her next opponent will be wenling tan monfardini of italy.
LAY Jian Fang (AUS) #143
vs
AGGARWAL Neha (IND) #271
You aussies should know more about penholder lay, so i won't say much. Aggarwal has very nice long strokes and a lot of fight, but not enough finesse; lay won 4-1 in mostly close games and will play sandra paovic of croatia next.
SANG Stephanie (AUS) #191
vs
KAFFO Bose (NGR) #313
Yet another aussie advances, also in 5 contested games. By the way is her last name xu or sang? Different places say different things. Anyway her next round opponent will be russian chopper svetlana ganina.
BAKULA Andrea (HRV) #136
vs
SILVA Yadira (MEX) #341
Bakula outclassed silva 4-0 but i still enjoyed watching this match as silva played with heart and made things close. Even against an inferior opponent, bakula still looked nervous and tense; when watching the croatian women i always get the impression that they're under a ton of pressure. Bakula will play huang i-hwa of taiwan in the next round.
ODOROVA Eva (SVK) #104
vs
TOMMY Priscila (VAN) #866
Saving the best for last, a complete 4-0 mismatch but a great match nonetheless. Priscila tommy is a defender somewhat in the mold of chen weixing. She'll chop, and if her opponent pushes she'll step in and can hit with the pips or the inverted. She has a lot of room for improvement and it will be great if she does improve; she already looks better than some of the other (higher-ranked) players who lost in this round. I believe vanuatu had three participants in the olympics; she was the flag bearer. Excerpts from
this story in the guardian about her:
Quote:
The 17-year-old native of Vanuatu has been playing for just four years . . .
"Only a few people play in Vanuatu, about fifteen. There's only four tables and one club," she said.
"These are international competitors. They're too strong for me. My goal is to get up to six points in my match," she said.
She actually got 17 points in her match! So to all of you whose clubs have more than fifteen players and four tables: what's your excuse?
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