Table Tennis Champ Defeats All Comers

The number one ranked table tennis player in the world, 27-year-old Wang Li Quin of China, has proven his prowess yet again.

The stage was the 2005 World Masters Challenge in Changsha, China. Wang Li Quin faced off against five world table tennis stars and defeated them all without losing a single set.

The Masters Challenge is an event hosted by the Chinese Table Tennis Association pitting five Chinese players against five international all-stars in team play. Only the winner of each match progresses to the next round.

China’s Wang Li Quin crushed second-ranked Timo Boll of Germany 3-0, who won this year’s Grand Finals tournament. Wang went on to defeat third-ranked Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus by a score of 3-0.

Wang also beat the World Championship’s single division bronze medallist, Oh Sang-eun (No. 6 world ranking, KT&G), Kalinikos Kreanga (No. 10, Greece), and 2003 World Championship singles division champion Werner Schlager (No. 18, Austria).

None of them could win a single set from Wang Li Quin.

As a result, the four other Chinese players including Ma Lin (ranked No. 4 in the world) and Wang Hao (ranked No. 5 in the world) never even got to play.

Wang Li Quin has a muscular physique with a height of 186 cm and a weight of 75kg. Equipped with a powerful, right-handed attack, Wang could be the best table tennis player ever.

Former table tennis star and current KT&G coach Kim Taek-su participated in this event as the all-star team’s coach.

Sung-Kyu Kim kimsk@donga.com