China's new generation of women paddlers coming of age

 LONDON, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- For those, who came to see a close game in table tennis women's final of the London Olympic Games on Tuesday, they may get a little disappointed. The match is intense, but by no means close.

Chinese women players dropped only two games out of 11, finished off Japan 3-0 in one and an half hour, clinching¹ the country's 23rd Olympic gold medal in table tennis.

The achievements were made by a team of young players, two of whom, Li Xiaoxia and Ding Ning, were attending the Olympics for the first time. Li and Ding, aged² 24 and 22, also won the gold and silver medals in women's singles in London.

Shi Zhihao, head coach of China's women's team, said the London Games showed that China's young table tennis players have successfully replaced the old ones.

"I am happy not only for their excellent performance, but also for the fact that they are young. I believe in the next four to eight years, Chinese players will become even more powerful," Shi said.

China's women's tablet tennis team suffered some setbacks after the retirement⁴ of a group of veteran players, such as Wang Nan and Zhang Yining. The two who won countless⁵ titles in table tennis retired⁶ after the Beijing Olympics.

Shi said many kept asking him what China should do after Wang and Zhang's retirement, especially after the 2010 Moscow World Team Championships when the Chinese women's team lost to Singapore.

"I always had the confidence that a new generation of leading players will emerge after the Olympics. Now they are here. Ding and Li are the core players (of the new generation)," Shi said.

Ding suffered an unexpected setback³ in the singles final and lost to Li after getting distraught with repeated service penalties and warnings from the umpire.

Shi said for him and the whole team, both Ding and Li are Olympic champions.

"Ding recovered from the singles and adjusted herself to the team event within just one day. It showed she is getting mentally strong and is able to lead the Chinese women's team," Shi said.

Despite the fact that China has won all possible medals in women's table tennis in London without many scares, Shi said the London Games is much more difficult than the Beijing Games, where it took away all three medals in women's singles, plus gold in team event.

The difficulties include the lack of experienced players and other changes the International Table Tennis Federation⁷ has made to the rules, such as the singles-first competition format⁸ and the reduce of players in the singles.

"As a matter of fact, there is almost nothing similar between the 2008 Games and 2012 Games. But our players faced all the changes and conquered them all. I'm really proud of them," Shi said.

Finishing second, the Japanese women also made history by winning Japan's first Olympic medal in table tennis. Singapore won the bronze medal after beating South Korea in three matches.

Both China and Japan had steamrolled all opponents with stunning⁹ victories since the start of the Olympic women's team table tennis tournament. The two Asian powers won all matches 3-0 before their final showdown.

The fast improvement of Japanese players, especially the young ones, over the past year has made many begin to question whether Japan will come to challenge China's dominance in the sport in the near future.

The most eye-catching player is Japan's 19-year-old Kasumi Ishikawa, who reached number 6 on the world ranking, surpassing star player Ai Fukuhara. Getting an Olympic silver medal at her Olympic debut¹⁰ will certainly boost Ishikawa's confidence.

"I'm casting my eye to Rio (2016 Olympic Games). In four years time I'd like to be stronger and have more power and beat the Chinese team," Ishikawa said.

1 clinching   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• Joe gets clinching evidence of the brains role when he dreams. 乔做梦时得到了大脑发生作用的决定性依据。 来自辞典例句
• Clinching, wrestling, pushing, or seizing, without attempting a throw or other technique. 抱，扭摔，推或抓而没有摔或其它的技术。 来自互联网

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

9 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

10 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。