Ma/Wang Come back to Win Mixed Doubles Title

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, May 24, 2003

Ma/Wang Come back to Win Mixed Doubles Title

Chinese duo Ma Lin/Wang Nan overcame a two-set deficit to claim the title of the mixed doubles on Friday here at the 47th world table tennis championships.

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Chinese duo Ma Lin/Wang Nan overcame a two-set deficit to claim the title of the mixed doubles on Friday here at the 47th world table tennis championships.

They beat their teammates Liu Guozheng/Bai Yang 4-3 for their first mixed doubles title at the world major event.

The winners actually did not start on the right foot as they lost the first two sets 9-11 and 10-12.

But they staged an amazing comeback from the third set where they stormed to a spectacular 11-0 win.

Liu/Bai managed to come into the game by putting the game levelat 3-3, only to lose the deciding set 8-11.

"After trailing 0-2, we simply think of going all out," said MaLin, who was paired with Wang Nan for the first time.

"Wang Nan was very resolute throughout the competition which greatly encouraged me to fight on," Ma said.

As Ma/Wang were back to the winning way, Bai Yang was getting increasingly frustrated, only to lose five straight points in the third set.

"What counts in the match was the mentality, but Bai was too anxious to win, " said Cai Zhenhua, the head coach of the Chinese team.

Bai was so frustrated at losing the title that she broke into tears after the match and declined to accept any interview.

On the contrary, Wang, ranked second in the world rankings, hadsweet smile on her face while waving her hands in response to the ovation from the stand.

In Wang's trophy showcase there has been a collection of gold medals from women's singles and doubles events but before this duel she still fell short of a mixed doubles title at such high-class events like Olympics and world championships.

"The title means a lot to me, " said Wang.

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