Indian Open: Titles for Singapore

ITTF Press Release

Players from Singapore completed a clean sweep of titles at the Indian Open in New Delhi on Sunday 11th February 2007; one day earlier Ma Liang and Ma Ming Lu had won the Under 21 Men�s Singles and Under 21 Women�s Singles titles respectively, one day later their compatriots emerged as champions in the four senior events.

Twenty-four year old Gao Ning and twenty-three year old Sun Bei Bei each won two titles.
Seeded number one in the Men�s Singles event, Gao Ning beat third seed Croatia�s Roko Tosic in the semi-finals 11-7, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8 before overcoming fifth seed, the host country�s Sharath Kamal in the final 11-5, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6.

At the penultimate stage Sharath Kamal had beaten Indian national team colleague, Suhajit Saha 11-5, 16-14, 11-8, 11-6.

It was the first time that Gao Ning and Sharath Kamal had met in a World Ranking event and it was the first time that either had reached the final of a Men�s Singles event on the ITTF Pro Tour.

Earlier in the proceedings Gao Ning had won the Men�s Doubles title in partnership with compatriot Yang Zi. In an all Singaporean final the duo beat Cai Xiao Li and Ma Liang 11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 10-12, 7-11, 11-5.

Meanwhile, in the Women�s Singles competition, Sun Bei Bei dominated matters from start to finish. She won, recording straight games victories in every round and thus clinched her first ever ITTF Pro Tour Women�s Singles title.

In the semi-finals she beat colleague Ma Ming Lu 13-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 before overcoming fourth seed, India�s Poulomi Ghatak 11-8, 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 in the final, having earlier won the Women�s Doubles crown with Yu Meng Yu.

It was for Yu Meng Yu a battle of willpower. She had been forced to withdraw from the semi-final of the Women�s Singles event against Poulomi Ghatak owing to illness but somehow found the strength to partner Sun Bei Bei to victory in the Women�s Doubles final.

Sun Bei Bei and Yu Meng Yu beat India�s Madhurika Patkar and Vishakha Bijoy in the final; they won 6-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-7, 13-11.

Image: Gao Ning, the Men's Singles champion at the first ITTF Pro Tour tournament to be held in India

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