Munroe extends Shyriev to seven games
- But Walder, Timo Boll exit World Table Tennis C/ships
Stabroek News
May 22, 2003
Guyanese table tennis players failed to advance from their preliminary groups at the World Table Tennis Championships currently underway in Bercy, France.
The most heartening performance came from former national men's singles champion Godfrey Munroe who took Timur Shyriev of Uzbekistan to the full seven games before bowing out.
Playing in Group 33 of the preliminary rounds, Munroe battled Shyriev tooth and nail before going under 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-13, 11-6.
Munroe had earlier lost to Dorian Quentel of France 11-3, 11-78, 11-8, 11-6.
Quentel won the group when he defeated Shyriev 4-0.
Guyana's Idi Lewis also turned in a fine performance in group 32.
Playing against the group's top seed Umberto Giardina, Lewis improved with every game before losing 7-11, 8-11, 9-11, 10-12.
He was scheduled to play USA's David Zhuang for second place after Giardina defeated Zhuang 4-0 to claim top spot in the group.
Dennis France in Group 30 lost to eventual group winner Mads Sorensen of Denmark 11-1, 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 and to Damien Lynch of Ireland 11-9, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8.
The other player US-based Orin Hickerson lost to Japan's Ryusuke Sakamoto 11-3, 11-3, 11-5, 11-2 and to Georanny Coello of Ecuador 11-3, 11-5, 11-4, 11-2.
It is the first time ever that players from Guyana are attending the world championships.
Meanwhile Timo Boll, the world's number one ranked player and top seed in the men's singles fell in the second round to eighteen year Yike Qui of China.
Also bowing out yesterday was former World and Olympic champion, Jan-Ove Waldner who, in his first game back after injury lost in the first round of the men's singles.
Waldner, a player who over the years has been at his best in crucial situations almost performed the great escape but in the end it proved to be a bridge too far. Trailing 1-10 in the vital seventh game against Konstantinos Papageorgiou of Greece, the Swedish star, encouraged by the crowd, gradually clawed his way back to 8-10 before he netted a backhand topspin to the undoubted relief of Papageorgiou .
