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7 minutes ago

State tennis: Raiders win three titles, finish second

Source: Rapid City Journal | May 18 2013, 9:02pm CDT

SIOUX FALLS – The Rapid City Stevens Raiders went neck-and-neck with Watertown and Sioux Falls O’Gorman for three hard days of tennis before finishing a close second on Saturday at the State Tennis Championships at McKennan Park. Watertown hung o ...

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"We knew we needed all three to put us in the drivers’ seat and we needed at least to win two of three to have a chance ... We lost a three-setter to Watertown and that is a 40-point swing. But we kept playing and it came down to the very last couple of matches."

Source: Rapid City Journal

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13 minutes ago

Shady Side Academy tennis falls short in PIAA title bid

Source: Pittsburgh Entertainment | May 18 2013, 8:56pm CDT

HERSHEY — When Shady Side Academy defeated North Allegheny to win the WPIAL Class AAA boys tennis singles title, it needed three come-from-behind three-set victories to dispatch the Tigers. Faced with a similar situation against Con ...

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37 minutes ago

Table tennis: China's global reach tests world talent

Source: Channel News Asia | May 18 2013, 8:32pm CDT

PARIS, France: China's long-standing table tennis supremacy is nothing new to fans and administrators, but the threat of migrant Chinese players stifling opportunities for homegrown talent around the world has cast a dark cloud over i ...

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1 hour ago

Family, friends remember UO tennis star Rovello

Source: KGW.com | May 18 2013, 7:40pm CDT

PORTLAND -- A memorial service was held today for Cleveland High School and Oregon Ducks tennis star Alex Rovello. Rovello died last weekend in a drowning accident. There's been an outpouring of sorrow from ...

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Carrboro, N.C. Science & Math and Cary Academy fall in tennis championships

Source: The News & Observer | May 18 2013, 7:28pm CDT

St. David’s pulls out the NCISAA 2A state championship in boys’ tennis. Carrboro and N.C. Science ...

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2 hours ago

Conestoga three-peats in tennis

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | May 18 2013, 6:53pm CDT

The Conestoga boys' tennis team won its third consecutive PIAA Class AAA state championship Saturday at the team tournament at the Hershey Racquet Club. Conestoga defeated Shady Side Academy in the title game for the second straight year, this ...

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2 hours ago

Top seeds advance to semifinals of Western Massachusetts individual girls tennis championships

Source: MassLive.com | May 18 2013, 6:47pm CDT

Hannah Epstein (pictured) and her partner Ashley Toebes advanced to the Western Mass. doubles semifinals. - (Michael Beswick, The Republican) WEST SPRINGFIELD – It seems as though the Longmeadow High School girls tennis team ...

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2 hours ago

Herricks' Vihar Shah wins Nassau boys tennis title; CSH's J.P. Paris and Conor Mullins take doubles title

Source: Newsday | May 18 2013, 6:43pm CDT

With one set in hand at the Nassau boys tennis singles final, Herricks' Vihar Shah went up two breaks in the second against Cold Spring Harbor 's Conor Dauer, but quickly gave one right back, causing doubts to creep in ...

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2 hours ago

5A girls state tennis: Marist freshman Madisyn Bryant beats reigning champion for singles title

Source: Oregon Live | May 18 2013, 6:41pm CDT

Your weather is now set to . You can change this setting at any time. Your weather is now set to . You can change this setting at any time. Signing with a school? Send us your recruiting information. BEAVERTON -- Third-seeded ...

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2 hours ago

NCAA Men's Tennis Quarterfinals 5/18/13

Source: The News-Gazette | May 18 2013, 6:34pm CDT

Former UI tennis coach Craig Tiley gives two thumbs-up to fans at the recognition ceremony of the Illinois 2003 NCAA national champion team at the NCAA Tennis Tournament at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Courts at the UI campus ...

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3 hours ago

W. Tennis. Starkova and Nalborska Participate in ITF Palmetto Pro Open

Source: Louisiana Tech Official Athletic Site | May 18 2013, 6:05pm CDT

The No. 1 and No. 2 singles players for LA Tech are in the qualifying draw of the even that hosts players from over 20 countries. Matches started early this morning with both Lady Techsters advancing to the second ro ...

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3 hours ago

Shelby boys tennis goes back-to-back; Charlotte Catholic swept in 3A championship

Source: Charlotte Observer | May 18 2013, 5:24pm CDT

tool goes here Shelby’s boys tennis team polished off a perfect season in the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team state finals Saturday in Greensboro. The Golden Lions (21-0) beat Carrboro 5-3 to win the 2A state champion ...

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11 weeks ago

Legendary table tennis duo return to form China's coaching staff

Feb 27 2013, 8:03am CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Beijing, Feb 27 (IANS) Almost a decade after they quit competitive play, the table tennis Grand Slam-winning "Twin Stars" of China, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, have come together to coach the national team.

Beijing, Feb 27 — Almost a decade after they quit competitive play, the table tennis Grand Slam-winning "Twin Stars" of China, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, have come together to coach the national team.

The sport's governing body of China held a press conference Tuesday to finalise the appointment of Liu to be the men's head coach while Kong will take charge of the women's team, Xinhua reports. Liu was also appointed as the general head coach, a first in eight years.

Taking the charge of an all-time leading squad which has been on top of the world for decades, Liu and Kong will have to prove their worth in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"My predecessor Shi Zhihao did an extraordinary job," said Kong, dubbed the Prince of Table Tennis during his playing days. "Under Shi's reign, the Chinese women's team pocketed all gold medals on offer in two Olympics, which set a high bar for me."

No easy case for Liu, either, since the men's team has been run under a commission without a "general head coach" for eight years. "It will be very challenging, for sure," Liu said.

The duo, however, hold far more soaring ambitions than lying on the record of merits.

"I'm both confident and determined to create a new era of table tennis alongside with my buddy Kong Linghui in the coming years," said Liu, who first took his job as the men's national head coach in 2003 and successfully guarded it twice in the following years. during his reign, the men's team collected almost all but one Olympic and world titles.

"Like my buddy Liu Guoliang said, we are not just eyeing to win more gold medals, but going to make table tennis a more popular sport in China and elsewhere in the world," echoed Kong.

Both now 37 years old, Liu and Kong had been always put on a par with each other in 1990s, not only for their equally glorious career as paddlers but their brotherhood.

"We were called up to the junior national team in the same year when we were 13, but two years earlier we had met each other in some national event," recalled Kong, a most popular paddler with Chinese supporters even years after he retired.

"Kong and I have always been a pack. In the past 26 years, we've been through a lot together," said Liu. "When we were players, we trained together, played all kinds of matches together, sometime against each other and sometimes combined as a pair. For all those years, we've shared so many memories, joy and tears."

In 1995, the two helped China claim the world crown and days later they squared off for the singles title. Just at that time, Kong claimed his first world championship title at 20 in Tianjin, but had to wait five years to bring in his Olympic gold medal in Sydney.

Liu's grand slam was completed in the 1999 world championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, as he won the final against younger teammate Ma Lin, though he said he performed just 70 percent of his top form as in 1996 when he took the Olympic gold and World Cup title.

The two good friends parted their ways in 2003 when Liu, who was trusted by table tennis authorities and his mentors, made a brilliant triple jump from assistant coach to coach to the youngest head coach ever on the Chinese team, while tenacious Kong continued his playing career.

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Kong made his third Olympic appearance, while Liu experienced his biggest test as newly combined Ma Lin and Chen Qi claimed the doubles gold but upbeat Wang Hao fell to South Korean Ryu Seung Min in the singles final.

For the following years, Liu led the side to conquer all, including two clean sweeps in the 2008 Beijing Games on home soil and the most recent London Olympics, while Kong acted as a player/coach assisting Liu before he called it quits in late 2006 and turned a trainer to coach the women's side.

IANS

Source: IANS

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Luigi Lugmayr
Luigi is the founding Chief Editor of I4U News and brings over 15 years experience in the technology field to the ever evolving and exciting world of gadgets. He started I4U News back in 2000 and evolved it into vibrant technology magazine.
Luigi can be contacted directly at ml@i4u.com. Luigi posts regularly on LuigiMe.com about his experience running I4U.

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Legendary table tennis duo return to form China's coaching staff

Beijing, Feb 27 (IANS) Almost a decade after they quit competitive play, the table tennis Grand Slam-winning "Twin Stars" of China, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, have come together to coach the national team.

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"We knew we needed all three to put us in the drivers’ seat and we needed at least to win two of three to have a chance ... We lost a three-setter to Watertown and that is a 40-point swing. But we kept playing and it came down to the very last couple of matches."

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Beijing, Feb 27 (IANS) Almost a decade after they quit competitive play, the table tennis Grand Slam-winning "Twin Stars" of China, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, have come together to coach the national team.

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360° Coverage : Legendary table tennis duo return to form China's coaching...

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Legendary table tennis duo return to form China's coaching staff

Beijing, Feb 27 (IANS) Almost a decade after they quit competitive play, the table tennis Grand Slam-winning "Twin Stars" of China, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, have come together to coach the national team.

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Gallery: Tennis (10 images)

Quote: "We knew we needed all three to put us in the drivers’ seat and we needed at least to win two of three to have a chance ... We lost a three-setter to Watertown and that is a 40-point swing. But we kept playing and it came down to the very last couple of matches."

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Legendary table tennis duo return to form China's coaching staff

Beijing, Feb 27 (IANS) Almost a decade after they quit competitive play, the table tennis Grand Slam-winning "Twin Stars" of China, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui, have come together to coach the national team.

Gallery: Tennis (10 images)

Don't miss ...

Latest stories

Quote:
"We knew we needed all three to put us in the drivers’ seat and we needed at least to win two of three to have a chance ... We lost a three-setter to Watertown and that is a 40-point swing. But we kept playing and it came down to the very last couple of matches."