Li’s Olympicflame burns out
TODAY Weekend • August 23, 2008
LAST SUNDAY, when China’s women’s table tennis team glittered with gold, at least she was together with her team-mates to share the hurt. And the gleaming piece of silver that would hang around her neck minutes later would have helped ease the pain.
On Friday night, when she faced match point at 10-4 down in the fight for Olympic bronze, Li Jiawei must have felt like the loneliest person in the world. The home crowd was delirious, the glare of the lights must have suddenly burned even brighter, the heat would have been stifling. She crouched to face Guo Yue’s serve but the road back was just too long and her spirit low. There was little fight left and seconds later, after one final point, the crowd roared as Guo Yue pumped her fists in the air, the owner of bronze in the women’s singles event at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Four years after Athens, Li’s performance in the event was good enough once again for her to dress for battle on the final day. But in an agonising repeat of 2004, she came up empty, twice. And the tears flowed again. She said she was deeply disappointed because she had failed — again.
Then it came, the shock news from the 27-year-old. “This is probably my last Olympics as by the time the 2012 Games come, I will be 31,” said Li. Maybe the world No 6 was simply overwhelmed by it all. Maybe, minutes after feeling the same emptiness, she didn’t want to think of the four years of toil required to have a chance of getting into a similar position in London. Maybe, she just does not want to feel so much hurt again.
Li had started on Friday morning with the toughest duel of all when she took on China’s world No 1, Zhang Yining, in the first of the women’s singles semi-finals at the Peking University Gymnasium. She started well to take the first game but in the end, the defending champion was just too good for the Singapore star and romped into the final 4-1.
More than eight hours later, Li returned to the battleground. There was still so much to play for — the b
ronze is still one of the most cherished prizes in the sport. She started poorly and after 15 minutes was 2-0 down. But she found new resolve and with every point won, she raised the decibel level of Singaporean support. Suddenly, 20-year-old Guo Yue seemed flustered. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the score was tied at 2-2, the playoff for bronze had turned into a roulette of the best of seven games. There were murmurs working its way through the home crowd and as if she could feel the vibes of worry, Guo Yue found an extra gear when she needed it most. The world No 2 showed her worth when she charged through the fifth set in five minutes to send Li reeling. Six minutes later it was all over, as the Chinese youngster posted a 4-2 win (11-6, 14-12, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4) to ensure a clean sweep of the medals for the hosts, with Zhang beating Wang Nan in the clash for gold that followed later.
ronze is still one of the most cherished prizes in the sport. She started poorly and after 15 minutes was 2-0 down. But she found new resolve and with every point won, she raised the decibel level of Singaporean support. Suddenly, 20-year-old Guo Yue seemed flustered. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the score was tied at 2-2, the playoff for bronze had turned into a roulette of the best of seven games. There were murmurs working its way through the home crowd and as if she could feel the vibes of worry, Guo Yue found an extra gear when she needed it most. The world No 2 showed her worth when she charged through the fifth set in five minutes to send Li reeling. Six minutes later it was all over, as the Chinese youngster posted a 4-2 win (11-6, 14-12, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4) to ensure a clean sweep of the medals for the hosts, with Zhang beating Wang Nan in the clash for gold that followed later. Ng Ser Miang, vice-president of the Singapore National Olympic Council, said they would sit down with the athlete, analyse her performance, look at the support systems and discuss Li’s position as far as the 2012 Olympics were concerned. “I am a bit disappointed as Jing Junhong reached the semi-finals in Sydney in 2000, Jiawei in Athens in 2004 and now here and we’ve not won,” he added. “But when you look at the Chinese with the world No 1, 2 and 4 in their ranks, and us with No 6, 7 and 9, then you realise there is definitely a gap there. “Now our task is to look at how to bring our level to the standard of the Chinese.”
Dr Vivian Balakrishan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, was in the stands and he was desperate for Li to win, not only for Singapore, but also because of her experience in Athens. While he hoped she would not retire, he said it was ultimately her decision to make.
If this is indeed the end for Li at the Olympics, then she will take comfort from the fact that she has helped to raise the Singapore flag high with the women’s team silver here. And she will take comfort in the knowledge that Minister Balakrishnan’s happiest and proudest moment at the Beijing Games was when pockets of Singapore fans came together as one, to cheer her on.
Along with a silver medal, that’s not a bad Olympic legacy to have.
Leonard Thomas sports editor in beijing leonard@mediacorp.com.sg
I came to Singapore 13 years ago and I would like to thank all those who helped me get to where I am today. Singapore table tennis star Li Jiawei, who missed out on the women’s singles bronze for the second time in succession at the Olympics.
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