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Wang Yuegu
Personal information
Full name: Wang Yuegu
Nationality:  Singapore
Residence: Singapore
Playing style: Right-handed shakehand grip[1]
Equipment(s): Nittaku blade[1]
Highest ranking: 6th (2008)[2]
Date of birth: 10 June 1980 (1980-06-10) (age 29)
Place of birth: Anshan, Liaoning, China
Height: 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)[3]
Weight: 63 kg (140 lb) (2008)[3]
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wang (Chinese: 王; pinyin: Wáng).

Wang Yuegu (Chinese: 王越古; pinyin: Wáng Yuègǔ, pronounced [wǎŋ ɥêɡù]; born 10 June 1980) is a China-born Singaporean table tennis player who is ranked among the top ten players in the world. Wang made her inaugural appearance on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour in June 2005 at the Volkswagen Korean Open in Suncheon, South Korea, where she and Sun Beibei took the silver medal in the women's doubles. On 24 September 2006, Wang achieved her first gold medal on the Pro Tour at the Japan Open in Yokohama. She repeated the feat against her compatriot Li Jiawei on 12 November at the ITTF Pro Tour German Open in Bayreuth. In June 2007, Wang helped Singapore sweep the women's team, women's doubles and mixed doubles gold trophies at the 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Jaipur.

Representing Singapore for the first time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she was a member of the silver medal-winning women's table tennis team. This is the first time that Singapore has won an Olympic medal since Singapore's independence in 1965. The medal comes 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first and only medal to date, a silver in weightlifting at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

Contents

Early years

Wang Yuegu was born on 10 June 1980[3] in Anshan, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.[1][4] In December 2004 she relocated to Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme as this offered her more opportunities to prove herself at the international level.[5] She subsequently became a Singapore citizen.

Career as national player

Wang made her inaugural appearance on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour in June 2005 at the Volkswagen Korean Open in Suncheon, South Korea, where she and Sun Beibei took the silver medal in the women's doubles.[6] Later that year, she and Sun went on to take two more silvers in doubles matches at the Chinese Taipei Open[7] and Volkswagen (China) Open.[8]

In 2006, Wang came third in the women's singles at the ITTF Pro Tour Chinese Taipei Open held in Taipei, bettering that effort by taking the singles silver medal at the subsequent ITTF Pro Tour Korea Open.[9] On 24 September, Wang achieved her first gold medal on the Pro Tour at the Japan Open in Yokohama, beating China's Guo Yan who was then the number one seed and ranked third in the world.[5][10] The achievement brought her into the top ten of the women's world ranking list for the first time in her career.[11] Wang repeated her gold-winning feat against compatriot Li Jiawei on 12 November at the ITTF Pro Tour German Open in Bayreuth.[12] In June 2007, Wang helped Singapore sweep the women's team,[13] women's doubles[14] and mixed doubles[15 ] gold trophies at the 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Jaipur. As a singles player, she was ranked seventh in the world as of August 2008.[2]

2008 Summer Olympics

See also: Li Jiawei – 2008 Summer Olympics

Wang represented Singapore for the first time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the women's table tennis team tournament with her teammates Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei. On 14 August the team defeated the Netherlands 3–0 to reach the semifinals, but not before a gruelling five-game doubles match against the Dutch players Li Jie and Elena Timina which Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu eventually won 3–2.[16] During the semifinals against South Korea's Dang Ye-Seo, Kim Kyung-Ah and Park Mi-Young on 15 August, Wang and Li beat Kim and Park in the doubles match, but Wang lost her singles match to Dang. Singapore eventually triumphed over South Korea 3–2.[17]

On 17 August, Wang and her teammates gained Singapore a silver medal in women's table tennis after losing to China in three matches.[18] In the doubles match, Wang and Li were bested by China's Zhang Yining and Guo Yue. This is the first time Singapore has won an Olympic medal since Singapore's independence in 1965. The medal comes 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won the country's first medal, a silver in weightlifting in the lightweight category at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[19]

Wang and her teammates received byes into the third round of the singles tournament.[20] However, Wang's Olympics came to an end after she was defeated 1–4 by the Dominican Republic's Wu Xue. Seeded fifth in the tournament, Wang was expected to overcome Wu, ranked 50th in the world by the ITTF, without difficulty but made numerous unforced errors. She had beaten Wu at all previous encounters.[21] Team manager Antony Lee attributed Wang's loss to the fact that Wu had played above her usual standard, and that Wang had been unable to cope with the spin from Wu's left-handed serves.[20]

At a victory celebration in Singapore on 25 August, Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, announced that Wang, Feng and Li would be presented with the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal). This is only the third time the medal will be awarded to athletes, the two previous recipients being weightlifter Tan Howe Liang (1962) and swimmer Joscelin Yeo (2006).[22]

In May 2009, the national table tennis women's team, composed of Wang and her teammates Feng, Li and Sun Beibei, were awarded the Team of the Year (Event) prize at the Singapore Sports Awards.[23]

Other events

On 22 November 2008, despite crashing out of the singles event earlier, Wang and her teammates Feng and Li won the top title and US$8,000 at the ITTF Pro Tour ERKE German Open in Berlin.[24] In an all-Singapore singles final at the Polish Open in Warsaw on 30 November, Wang took silver against Feng who achieved her first professional singles title.[25] She was fifth in Today newspaper's list of athletes of the year for 2008.[26]

On 24 May 2009, Wang and Yang Zi beat Gao Ning and Sun Beibei to the mixed doubles gold in an all-Singaporean final at the 18th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Glasgow. The next day, Wang also took the singles title from her teammate Yu Mengyu.[27]

Wang participated in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos. She was a member of the Singapore women's team with Feng Tianwei and Sun Beibei that beat Thailand 3–0 on 10 December 2009.[28] On 13 December, she and her partner Yang defeated compatriots Feng and Gao in an all-Singapore final in the mixed doubles.[29] The following day, in another all-Singapore encounter, she and her partner Feng were were beaten by Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu in the women's doubles.[30] The following day, she picked up another silver in the singles competition after battling Feng.[31]

Medals

Event Medal Date Competition
2005
Women's doubles[6]

(with Sun Beibei)

 Silver 12 June 2005 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Pro Tour Volkswagen Korean Open
Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, South Korea
Women's doubles[7]

(with Sun Beibei)

 Silver 19 June 2005 ITTF Pro Tour TMS Chinese Taipei Open
Taipei, Chinese Taipei
Women's doubles[8]

(with Sun Beibei)

 Silver 18 September 2005 ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen (China) Open
Shenzhen, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
2006
Women's singles[32] Silver 1–4 June 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Korean Open
Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Women's singles[33] Bronze 11 June 2006 ITTF Pro Tour TMS Chinese Taipei Open
Taipei, Chinese Taipei
Women's singles[10] Gold 24 September 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Japan Open
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Women's singles[12] Silver 1–5 November 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Eurosib Russian Open
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Women's singles[12] Gold 12 November 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Liebherr German Open
Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany
2007
Women's team[13][14]

(with Sun Beibei and Tan Paey Fern)

 Gold 2 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Mixed doubles[14][15 ]

(with Yang Zi)

 Gold 4 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Women's singles[14][34] Silver 5 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Women's doubles[14]

(with Sun Beibei)

 Gold 5 June 2007 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
2008
Women's team[35]

(with Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei, Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu)

 Silver 1 March 2008 Evergrande Real Estate World Team Table Tennis Championships
Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
Women's team[36]

(with Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei)

 Silver 24 May 2008 ITTF Pro Tour Volkswagen Japan Open
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Women's team[37]

(with Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei)

 Silver 13–17 August 2008 2008 Summer Olympics
Beijing, People's Republic of China
Women's team[24]

(with Feng Tianwei and Li Jiawei)

 Gold 22 November 2008 ITTF Pro Tour ERKE German Open
Berlin, Germany
Women's singles[25] Silver 30 November 2008 ITTF Pro Tour Polish Open
Warsaw, Poland
2009
Mixed doubles[27]

(with Yang Zi)

 Gold 24 May 2009 18th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Glasgow, Scotland
Women's singles[27] Gold 25 May 2009 18th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships
Glasgow, Scotland
Women's team[28]
(with Feng Tianwei and Sun Beibei)		 Gold 10 December 2009 25th Southeast Asian Games
Vientiane, Laos
Mixed doubles[29]
(with Yang Zi)		 Gold 13 December 2009 25th Southeast Asian Games
Vientiane, Laos
Women's doubles[30]
(with Feng Tianwei)		 Silver 14 December 2009 25th Southeast Asian Games
Vientiane, Laos
Women's singles[31] Silver 15 December 2009 25th Southeast Asian Games
Vientiane, Laos

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c WANG Yue Gu, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/biography/biography_web_details.asp?Player_ID=110000&s_Assoc=&s_Gender=&s_Name=&s_Player_ID=&, retrieved 23 August 2008  .
  2. ^ a b World ranking record for WANG Yuegu (SIN), International Table Tennis Federation, January 2008, http://www.ittf.com, retrieved 17 August 2008  .
  3. ^ a b c Athlete biography: WANG Yue Gu, Beijing 2008, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, 2008, http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/3/202323.shtml, retrieved 18 August 2008  .
  4. ^ Wang Yuegu, 淘宝 [Táobǎo], 2 March 2008, http://www.tgezi.cn/blog/article.asp?id=256, retrieved 23 August 2008  .
  5. ^ a b Ian Marshall (24 September 2006), Wang Yue Gu stages remarkable recovery to win her first ITTF Pro Tour title, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/World_Events/press_release.asp?PT_Title=Japan%20Open&s_Year=2006, retrieved 23 August 2008  .
  6. ^ a b Ian Marshall (12 June 2005), New names, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=7225&Competition_ID=1510&, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  7. ^ a b Ian Marshall (19 June 2005), Unbeatable combination, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=7267&Competition_ID=1511&, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  8. ^ a b Ian Marshall (18 September 2005), Title for classic combination, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=7601&Competition_ID=1531&, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  9. ^ Wang Yue Gu, Singapore National Olympic Council, 2008, http://www.snoc.org.sg/p_wangyuegu.php, retrieved 17 August 2008  .
  10. ^ a b Ian Marshall (24 September 2006), Wang Yue Gu performs the great escape to capture gold in Yokohama, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=10131&Competition_ID=1590&, retrieved 21 August 2008  ; Wang secures second Japan crown, BBC Sport, 25 September 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/table_tennis/5379572.stm  .
  11. ^ Ian Marshall (4 October 2006), Wang Yue Gu secures top ten place for the first time in her career, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/stories/Stories_detail.asp?ID=10262&Category=&General_Catigory=General&, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  12. ^ a b c Ian Marshall (12 November 2006), Wang Yue Gu avenges defeat of one week earlier by succeeding in Bayreuth, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=10545&Competition_ID=1596&, retrieved 15 August 2008  .
  13. ^ a b Ian Marshall (2 June 2008), Stern resistance from Malaysia but Singapore captures gold in Jaipur, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=11820&Competition_ID=1650&, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  14. ^ a b c d e 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2007, Jaipur, India, 30 May – 5 June 2007, Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation, 5 June 2007, http://jaipur.comtab.com, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  15. ^ a b Ian Marshall (4 June 2008), Singapore adds to gold medal collection as mixed doubles crown is secured, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=11836&Competition_ID=1650&, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  16. ^ Marc Lim (15 August 2008), "Moment of truth: Beat South Korea today, and Singapore are guaranteed the silver medal. Lose, and Singapore will go into a six-team play-off for the bronze", The Straits Times (Sport): B15  .
  17. ^ "Compelling: How the Koreans were overcome in five matches", The Straits Times (Sport): C34, 16 August 2008  .
  18. ^ China women take gold, International Herald Tribune, 17 August 2008, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/17/sports/olytableten17.php  .
  19. ^ Olympics: Singapore enter women's table-tennis team final, Channel NewsAsia, 15 August 2008, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sportsnews/view/368387/1/.html, retrieved 15 August 2008  ; Marc Lim (16 August 2008), "At last! S'pore assured of at least a silver after 48-year wait", The Straits Times: 1  ; Leonard Thomas (16 August 2008), "A new Olympic heroine: First medal since 1960", Today: 1 & 3, http://www.todayonline.com/articles/271233.asp  ; Leonard Thomas (18 August 2008), "A silver spark? Feng, Li and Wang could just be what's needed to fire up sports talent and development in S'pore", Today: 1–2, http://www.todayonline.com/articles/271499.asp  .
  20. ^ a b Low Lin Fhoong (21 August 2008), "Yuegu crashes out: Jiawei and Tianwei cruise into last 16 despite team-mate's shock loss", Today: 55, http://www.todayonline.com/articles/272095.asp  .
  21. ^ Chua Chin Hon (21 August 2008), "Wang makes shock exit: She loses to Dominican player, but teammates Li and Feng progress", The Straits Times (Sport): B12  .
  22. ^ Jeanette Wang; Lin Xinyi; Valerie Chia (26 August 2008), "Cheers and national honours for winning trio", The Straits Times: A6  ; Tan Yo-Hinn (26 August 2008), "A party 48 years in the making: Team Singapore return to a grand heroes' welcome", Today: 31, http://www.todayonline.com/articles/272924.asp  .
  23. ^ Terrence Voon; Lin Xinyi (6 May 2009), "Paddlers are team of the year ... but no award for coach", The Straits Times  ; Low Lin Fhoong (6 May 2009), "Women's paddlers: 3-in-a-row", Today: 43, archived from the original on 7 May 2009, http://www.webcitation.org/5gar6xZT6, retrieved 7 May 2009  .
  24. ^ a b Ian Marshall (22 November 2008), Gold for Singapore, a major boost of confidence for Germany, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=16746&Competition_ID=1730&, retrieved 25 November 2008  ; Lin Xinyi (24 November 2008), "S'pore win team crown: Women paddlers put aside singles losses for joint glory in Germany", The Straits Times (Sport): B13  .
  25. ^ a b Ian Marshall (30 November 2008), Feng Tianwei collects first career ITTF Pro Tour Women’s Singles Gold, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=16819&Competition_ID=1731&, retrieved 4 December 2008  ; Jonathan Wong (1 December 2008), Feng, 22, claims first professional title, p. B10  .
  26. ^ Leonard Thomas (31 December 2008), "The brightest star of all: Table tennis star Li Jiawei is TODAY's Singapore Athlete of the Year 2008", Today: 24, archived from the original on 1 January 2009, http://www.webcitation.org/5dUzauUYw  .
  27. ^ a b c "Paddlers win 6 golds again", The Straits Times: B11, 26 May 2009  .
  28. ^ a b Result list – table tennis: Women's team, 25th SEA Games, Laos, Vientiane 2009, 10 December 2009, archived from the original on 16 December, http://www.webcitation.org/5m4bZNsRV, retrieved 16 December 2009  ; Lin Xinyi (11 December 2009), "Double delight: Singapore's men and women clinch table tennis team gold", The Straits Times  ; Low Lin Fhoong (11 December 2009), "Table tennis team gold sparks Singapore off", Today, archived from the original on 16 December 2009, http://www.webcitation.org/5m4c3D7kQ  .
  29. ^ a b SEA Games: Quah shines as Singapore wins two more golds in swimming, Channel NewsAsia, 13 December 2009, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1024542/1/.html  .
  30. ^ a b Lin Xinyi (15 December 2009), "Sun and Yu stun Feng and Wang", The Straits Times: B8  ; Low Lin Fhoong (15 December 2009), "Sun, Yu retain doubles crown", Today: 48, archived from the original on 16 December 2009, http://www.webcitation.org/5m4Z8d0g4  .
  31. ^ a b Lin Xinyi (16 December 2009), "Table toppers: Singapore paddlers sweep singles golds to finish on a high", The Straits Times: B10  ; Low Lin Fhoong (16 December 2009), "It will be a big year for table tennis: Feng and Gao Ning win final two golds, as STTA chief looks ahead to 2010", Today: 65, archived from the original on 16 December 2009, http://www.webcitation.org/5m4Zl06E8  .
  32. ^ Players' profiles: National team: Wang Yue Gu, Singapore Table Tennis Association, 2007, http://www.stta.org.sg/profiles/yuegu.htm, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  33. ^ Women's singles – semi finals, International Table Tennis Federation, 11 June 2008, http://www.ittf.com/competitions/matches_per_round2.asp?competition_ID=1570&rnd=4&s_Event_Type=WS, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  34. ^ Ian Marshall (5 June 2008), Sun Bei Bei adds to collection of titles at Commonwealth Championships, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story.asp?ID=11839&Competition_ID=1650&, retrieved 21 August 2008  .
  35. ^ Ian Marshall (1 March 2008), Singapore provides severe test as China retain women's team world title, International Table Tennis Federation, http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=14878&Competition_ID=1678&, retrieved 16 August 2008  .
  36. ^ Japan Open 2008 – WSTM2, International Table Tennis Federation, May 2008, http://www.ittf.com/world_events/team_Indv_matches1.asp?Tour_Code=1708&Event_Type=WSTM2&P1_Assc=CHN&P2_Assc=SIN, retrieved 16 August 2008  .
  37. ^ China women take table tennis gold, The Associated Press, 17 August 2008, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jALHnVjf5FEn_eylS8JU_SqesJoQD92K2DPO0, retrieved 17 August 2008  .

References

External links








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