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Defending champion Ryu whitewashed by Brazilan paddler
Xinhua
Updated: 2008-08-14 01:10
BEIJING - The men's singles defending champion Ryu Seung Min was whitewashed by Brazilan Thiago Monteiro in the opening day's table tennis team preliminaries at the Olympic Games Wednesday.
Ryu dropped the three-set opening tie 3-11, 10-12, 8-11 in 21 minutes.
South Korea's table tennis player Ryu Seung Min sticks out his tongue after losing a point to Brazil's Monteiro Thiago during the men's team table tennis qualification group C round of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Peking University gymnasium in Beijing on August 13, 2008. [Agencies] |
Ryu's loss was made up by teammates Oh Sang Eun and Yoon Jae Young, who took the next three matches 3-0 and finished off the Brazilian 3-1.
"He knows how I play and he plays very well against me. His style is very difficult for me to handle," Ryu said.
The defending Olympic singles champion was defeated by Thiago in 2005 World Cup in Xiaoshan, Changzhou city in China.
"I did not expect to beat Ryu before coming onto court. But later I felt that I can serve well and return his ball well and began to feel quite comfortable in playing with him," Monteiro, who was ranked 66th on the world standings.
Monteiro said he admires Ryu very much and likes watching him play. "The victory boosted my confidence and it will inspire the young people in Brazil to play table tennis," he added.
Brazilian head coach Wei Jianren has said that they were in no dread of Ryu after both teams were drawn in Group C.
"The draw is not bad because we have mental advantage over Ryu," Wei said last Thursday.
The Brazilian coach added that seeded 13 in the men's team event, Brazil aims to reach top eight in Beijng.