RI men's team loses to Argentina in Osaka meet

RI men's team loses to Argentina in Osaka meet

JAKARTA (Agencies): The Indonesian men's team fell short in
skills against Argentina and had to bow out 3-1 in the playoffs
of the 46th World Table Tennis championships in Osaka, Japan, on
Wednesday.

Top player Ismu Harinto barely exerted himself to beat Martin
Paradela 21-17, 18-21, 21-9 but the lead was reduced when David
Michael Jacobs lost 20-22, 15-21 to Liu Song.

Pablo Ariel Tabachnik beat Reno Handoyo 21-12, 16-21, 22-20,
while Ismu failed to tame Liu in the decisive game and lost 11-
21, 21-19, 7-21.

The women's team fared better. It beat India 3-0 to stay in
the second division playoffs.

Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti had an easy path to earn a 21-14, 21-
14 victory over Poulomi Ghatak. Fauziah Yulianti defeated Mouma
Das 21-19, 21-7 while Putri Septi Naulina Hasibuan overcame Montu
Ghosh in straight sets 21-14, 24-22.

Meanwhile, the two Koreas were on a collision course with the
North and South just a game away from facing each other in the
semifinals, AFP reported.

Such a clash would be the tie of the tournament for thousands
of Japan-based Koreans who have noisily cheered both nations at
the Oskaka Gymnasium.

The Koreas had been due to enter a joint team, part of the
rapprochement process on the divided peninsula, but the North
withdrew at the last moment.

North Korea defeated Belarus 3-1 in the second round proper of
the tournament Wednesday afternoon, while its southern neighbour
easily brushed aside Austria 3-0, the entire tie taking only an
hour.

For the all-Korean game to take place, South Korea must beat
lower-ranked Singapore in the last eight Thursday, while the
North has to overcome Chinese Taipei.

The Taipei women were runners-up to China at the last event,
but struggled Wednesday, only overcoming Hong Kong 3-2 after two-
and-a-half hours of effort.

The interest in a Korean match would be all the greater since
it is increasingly looking a formality that China's women will
take the top spot with minimal effort.

The Chinese swiftly dispatched Germany in the second round 3-
0, sending out its strongest squad, comprising world numbers one,
two and three, Wang Nan, Li Ju and Zhang Yining.

In the men's team event, the second round was beginning
Wednesday evening, with favorites Sweden and China playing Greece
and Holland respectively.

Reigning champion Sweden and the Chinese are at opposite
halves of the draw, and cannot meet until the final.

However if China, as expected, wins on Wednesday, it faces the
tricky possibility of playing a strong German side in the
quarterfinals, if Germany beats Poland.

At Thursday's International Table Tennis Federation annual
meeting, a number of rule changes are likely to be voted through,
the most radical of which is complete overhaul of the scoring
system.

Rather than playing either three or five games to 21 points,
matches would involve five or seven of up to 11 points, the
intention being to provide more "crisis moments" in every match.

Also under discussion is a new rule to make players'
increasingly treacherous serves easier to return, to increase the
length of rallies.