Ryu Beats Rival at Table Tennis World Cup

Korea’s table tennis star Ryu Seung-min of Samsung Life beat his tough Chinese competitor Ma Lin in the 2007 Table Tennis World Cup held in Barcelona yesterday.

In the singles quarterfinals, Ryu, the world’s ninth-ranked player, won 4-1 (12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 13-11, 13-11) to second-ranked Ma Lin. It was Ryu’s first victory over Ma Lin in international play, making up for 11 losses in 11 matches held in the past. Ma Lin had defended his world’s No. 1 ranking until last month for almost a year.

At the end of a gripping deuce in the first set, Ryu forestalled his rival 12-10 and won his ticket to the semifinals by coming out on top in the next two sets.

In the next round, Ryu will compete with another Chinese rival, Wang Liqin, the 2005 champion and the world’s third ranked player, in the finals.

kimsk@donga.com