China’s Ma Long secured the bronze medal place in the Liebherr Men’s
World Cup in the Country Hall Ethias in the Belgian city of Liège.
He
beat Kalinikos Kreanga in the crucial play off match on the afternoon
of Sunday 28th September 2008 in a contest betweeen two of the world’s
most dynamic table tennis players.
Ma Long won 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.
It
was the first time that Ma Long had played in the prestigious annual
event and it was the first time that the two had met in a world ranking
competition.
Mighty Strokes
Both
Kalinikos Kreanga and Ma Long are players with the most devastatingly
powerful strokes; the Greek star has arguably the world’s most dynamic
backhand whilst for Ma Long, few possess a forehand that is so powerful.
In the first game it was the backhand of Kalinikos Kreanga that was in the ascendancy and he was the player with the fortune.
Forehand
The first game had seen the backhand of Kalinikos Kreanga in top flow, the second game saw the forehand of Ma Long in top gear.
He
established a 5-1 lead, the Greek star reduced the arrears to 7-6 but
never gained parity. Ma Long secured the game and the match score was
level.
Consistent to Backhand
The
policy of Wang Hao in the semi-finals had been to consistently attack
the backhand of Kalinikos Kreanga, using heavy topspin as opposed to
speed.
Ma Long followed that policy in the third game.
He
dominated the early stages moving into a 6-1 lead; it was a lead he
never relinquished and from having been one game to nil in arrears, he
was now one game to the good.
Controlled
In
similar vein to the contest between Wang Hao and Kalinikos Kreanga it
was a case of weathering the storm; in the fourth game Ma Long did just
that.
Kalinikos Kreanga threw the kitchen sink at Ma Long, the
twenty-two year old Chinese star blocked with aplomb and the Greek
strained every sinew to play a winning stroke.
Ma Long controlled the game, he win with a degree of comfort and was two games to the good.
Writing on the Wall
The writing was now on the wall; in the fifth game Ma Long sped into a 6-2 lead; Kalinikos Kreanga called "Time Out".
He tried to play expansive winners, it was to no avail, Ma Long was in control.
Task Completed
At
8-5 he took a "Time Out" to collect his thoughts at the insistence of
coach, Qin Zhijian, he came back and duly completed the task.
In his first ever Men’s World Cup third place was secured; a fine effort but no doubt he had hoped for more.
Source: www.ittf.com
