Chinese Pair Take Women's Table Tennis Gold

Chinese top seeds Wang Nan and Li Ju won Olympic gold in women's table tennis on Friday, sweeping aside compatriots Sun Jin and Yang Yin in the final.

Wang and Li, numbers one and two respectively in the world singles rankings, saw off the number two seeds without conceding a game, winning 21-18 21-11 21-11.

In a much more exciting match for the bronze medal, Kim Moo-kyo and Ryu Ji-hye of South Korea (Korea) defeated Hungarian pair Csilla Batorfi and Krisztina Toth 3-2 (21-18 21-19 22-24 19-21 21-19).

The Koreans looked unstoppable after taking a 2-0 lead but the Hungarians fought back to take them to a deciding game.

Wang and Li's victory underscores China's dominance in table tennis. Friday's encounter was the third consecutive all-Chinese final in the event and both Wang and Li have also qualified for the semifinals of the singles competition.

"We can't say it was really easy. Even though the scores were not that close, both sides were trying their best," Wang said after the doubles final.

Her assessment appeared diplomatic. While the first game was fairly close, the number one seeds always seemed comfortable. The match also produced few exciting rallies.

"The first game was really crucial," runner-up Yang said. "After we lost the first game, we became a bit confused."

The lacklustre nature of the match did not seem to trouble the many members of Australia's Chinese community at the State Sports Centre, however.

They cheered on the finalists and waved hundreds of red Chinese flags after Wang and Li's win.

The pair's victory was also watched by Microsoft chief Bill Gates, whose presence brought calls of "G'day Bill! and "Could you lend me a million?" from the Sydney crowd.