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Wang Yuegu

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Wang Yuegu
Personal information
Full nameWang Yuegu
Nationality Singapore
ResidenceSingapore
Height1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight63 kg (139 lb) (2008)[1]
Highest ranking7th (2008)[2]
Medal record
Women's table tennis
Representing  Singapore
ITTF Pro Tour
Silver medal – second place 2005 Taipei Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Yokohama Singles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Bayreuth Singles
Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Jaipur Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Jaipur Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2007 Jaipur Mixed doubles
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Team

Template:Chinese name Wang Yuegu (Chinese: 王越古; pinyin: Wáng Yuègǔ) (born 10 June 1980) is a China-born Singaporean table tennis player who is ranked among the top ten players in the world. Wang made her inaugural appearance on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour in June 2005 at the Volkswagen Korean Open in Suncheon, South Korea, where she and Sun Beibei took the silver medal in the women's doubles. On 24 September 2006, Wang achieved her first gold medal on the Pro Tour at the Japan Open in Yokohama. She repeated the feat against her compatriot Li Jiawei on 12 November at the ITTF Pro Tour German Open in Bayreuth. In June 2007, Wang helped Singapore sweep the women's team, women's doubles and mixed doubles gold trophies at the 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Jaipur.

Representing Singapore for the first time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she was a member of the silver medal-winning women's table tennis team. This is the first time that Singapore has won an Olympic medal since Singapore's independence in 1965. The medal comes 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first and only medal to date, a silver in weightlifting at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

Early years

Wang Yuegu was born on 10 June 1980 in Liaoning,Anshan 辽宁 鞍山, People's Republic of China.[1] She subsequently became a Singapore citizen under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.

Career as national player

Wang made her inaugural appearance on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour in June 2005 at the Volkswagen Korean Open in Suncheon, South Korea, where she and Sun Beibei took the silver medal in the women's doubles.[3] Later that year, she and Sun went on to take two more silvers in doubles matches at the Chinese Taipei Open[4] and Volkswagen (China) Open.[5]

In 2006, Wang came third in the women's singles at the ITTF Pro Tour Chinese Taipei Open held in Taipei, bettering that effort by taking the singles silver medal at the subsequent ITTF Pro Tour Korea Open.[6] On 24 September, Wang achieved her first gold medal on the Pro Tour at the Japan Open in Yokohama, beating China's Guo Yan who was then the number one seed and ranked third in the world.[7] The achievement brought her into the top ten of the women's world ranking list for the first time in her career.[8] Wang repeated her gold-winning feat against compatriot Li Jiawei on 12 November at the ITTF Pro Tour German Open in Bayreuth.[9] In June 2007, Wang helped Singapore sweep the women's team,[10] women's doubles[11] and mixed doubles[12] gold trophies at the 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Jaipur. As a singles player, she was ranked seventh in the world as of August 2008.[2]

2008 Summer Olympics

See also: Li Jiawei – 2008 Summer Olympics

Wang represented Singapore for the first time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the women's table tennis team tournament with her teammates Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei. On 14 August the team defeated the Netherlands 3–0 to reach the semifinals, but not before a gruelling five-game doubles match against the Dutch players Li Jie and Elena Timina which Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu eventually won 3–2.[13] During the semifinals against South Korea's Dang Ye-Seo, Kim Kyung-Ah and Park Mi-Young on 15 August, Wang and Li beat Kim and Park in the doubles match, but Wang lost her singles match to Dang. Singapore eventually triumphed over South Korea 3–2.[14]

On 17 August, Wang and her teammates gained Singapore a silver medal in women's table tennis after losing to China in three matches.[15] In the doubles match, Wang and Li were bested by China's Zhang Yining and Guo Yue. This is the first time Singapore has won an Olympic medal since Singapore's independence in 1965. The medal comes 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first medal, a silver in weightlifting in the lightweight category at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[16]

Wang and her teammates received byes into the third round of the singles tournament.[17] However, Wang's Olympics came to an end after she was defeated 1–4 by the Dominican Republic's Wang Xue. Seeded fifth in the tournament, Wang was expected to overcome Wang Xue, ranked 50th in the world by the ITTF, without difficulty but made numerous unforced errors. She had beaten Wang Xue at all previous encounters.[18] Team manager Antony Lee attributed Wang's loss to the fact that Wang Xue had played above her usual standard, and that Wang had been unable to cope with the spin from Wang Xue's left-handed serves.[17]

Medals

Event Medal Date Competition
2005
Women's doubles[3]

(with Sun Beibei)

Silver 12 June 2005 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour Volkswagen Korean Open
Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, South Korea
Women's doubles[4]

(with Sun Beibei)

Silver 19 June 2005 ITTF Pro Tour TMS Chinese Taipei Open
Taipei, Chinese Taipei
Women's doubles[5]

(with Sun Beibei)

Silver 18 September 2005 ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen (China) Open
Shenzhen, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
2006
Women's singles[19] Silver 1 June – 4 June 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Korean Open
Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Women's singles[20] Bronze 11 June 2006 ITTF Pro Tour TMS Chinese Taipei Open
Taipei, Chinese Taipei
Women's singles[7] Gold 24 September 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Japan Open
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Women's singles[9] Silver 1 November – 5 November 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Eurosib Russian Open
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Women's singles[9] Gold 12 November 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr German Open
Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany
2007
Women's team[10][11]

(with Sun Beibei and Tan Paey Fern)

Gold 2 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Mixed doubles[11][12]

(with Yang Zi)

Gold 4 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Women's singles[11][21] Silver 5 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Women's doubles[11]

(with Sun Beibei)

Gold 5 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
2008
Women's team[22]

(with Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei, Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu)

Silver 1 March 2008 Evergrande Real Estate World Team Table Tennis Championships
Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
Women's team[23]

(with Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei)

Silver 24 May 2008 ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen Japan Open
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Women's team[24]

(with Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei)

Silver 13 August – 17 August 2008 2008 Summer Olympics
Beijing, People's Republic of China

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Athlete biography: WANG Yue Gu, Beijing 2008, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, retrieved 2008-08-18 {{citation}}: Text "year-2008" ignored (help).
  2. ^ a b World ranking record for WANG Yuegu (SIN), International Table Tennis Federation, August 2008, retrieved 2008-08-17.
  3. ^ a b Ian Marshall (2005-06-12), New names, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  4. ^ a b Ian Marshall (2005-06-19), Unbeatable combination, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  5. ^ a b Ian Marshall (2005-09-18), Title for classic combination, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  6. ^ Wang Yue Gu, Singapore National Olympic Council, 2008, retrieved 2008-08-17.
  7. ^ a b Ian Marshall (2006-09-24), Wang Yue Gu performs the great escape to capture gold in Yokohama, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Wang secures second Japan crown, BBC Sport, 2006-09-25 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  8. ^ Ian Marshall (2006-10-04), Wang Yue Gu secures top ten place for the first time in her career, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  9. ^ a b c Ian Marshall (2006-11-12), Wang Yue Gu avenges defeat of one week earlier by succeeding in Bayreuth, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-15 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  10. ^ a b Ian Marshall (2008-06-02), Stern resistance from Malaysia but Singapore captures gold in Jaipur, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  11. ^ a b c d e 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2007, Jaipur, India, 30 May – 5 June 2007, Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation, 2007-06-05, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  12. ^ a b Ian Marshall (2008-06-04), Singapore adds to gold medal collection as mixed doubles crown is secured, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  13. ^ Marc Lim (2008-08-15), "Moment of truth: Beat South Korea today, and Singapore are guaranteed the silver medal. Lose, and Singapore will go into a six-team play-off for the bronze", The Straits Times (Sport), p. B15 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  14. ^ "Compelling: How the Koreans were overcome in five matches", The Straits Times (Sport), p. C34, 2008-08-16 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  15. ^ China women take gold, International Herald Tribune, 2008-08-17 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  16. ^ Olympics: Singapore enter women's table-tennis team final, Channel NewsAsia, 2008-08-15, retrieved 2008-08-15 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Marc Lim (2008-08-16), "At last! S'pore assured of at least a silver after 48-year wait", The Straits Times, p. 1 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Leonard Thomas (2008-08-16), "A new Olympic heroine: First medal since 1960", Today, pp. 1 & 3 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Leonard Thomas (2008-08-18), "A silver spark? Feng, Li and Wang could just be what's needed to fire up sports talent and development in S'pore", Today, pp. 1–2 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  17. ^ a b Low Lin Fhoong (2008-08-21), "Yuegu crashes out: Jiawei and Tianwei cruise into last 16 despite team-mate's shock loss", Today, p. 55 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  18. ^ Chua Chin Hon (2008-08-21), "Wang makes shock exit: She loses to Dominican player, but teammates Li and Feng progress", The Straits Times (Sport), p. B12 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  19. ^ Players' profiles: National team: Wang Yue Gu, Singapore Table Tennis Association, 2007, retrieved 2008-08-21.
  20. ^ Women's singles – semi finals, International Table Tennis Federation, 2008-06-11, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  21. ^ Ian Marshall (2008-06-05), Sun Bei Bei adds to collection of titles at Commonwealth Championships, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-21 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  22. ^ Ian Marshall (2008-03-01), Singapore provides severe test as China retain women's team world title, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2008-08-16 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  23. ^ Japan Open 2008 – WSTM2, International Table Tennis Federation, May 2008, retrieved 2008-08-16.
  24. ^ China women take table tennis gold, The Associated Press, 2008-08-17, retrieved 2008-08-16 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).

References

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