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Today's Paper | November 27, 2024

Published 28 Mar, 2003 12:00am

Pakistan table tennis team to play in China: Clean sweep by Chinese

ABBOTTABAD, March 27: Pakistan’s national table tennis team will play a series of matches in China.

An invitation to the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) was extended at the conclusion of Chinese table tennis team’s tour to this country, that concluded at here late Thursday night.

China easily won all the three Tests, involving both boys and girls, of this friendly table tennis series.

It is a good news for Pakistan table tennis players following the postponement of 14-discipline South Asian Federation (SAF) Games for the second time in the wake of war in Iraq.

The first two Tests were played at Islamabad and Lahore.

The series was arranged as part of Pakistan table tennis team’s preparations for the SAF Games.

China, the no.1 table tennis-playing nation in the world, made a clean-sweep of three matches each played in the boys and girls categories in the last Test of the series.

In the first girls match, Wu Xiqo overwhelmed Louzia of Pakistan 11-3, 11-3, 10-4. Yao Yao had the better of Shabnum Bilal 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 and in the final match Zhang Nan dropped a set before beating Tayyaba Gill 12-10, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8.

Gao Ntuq won 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 against Pakistani top-seed Farjad Saif at the start of boys’ competitions while Jie Jian Wei defeated Kashif Razzaq 5-11,12-10, 11-8, 11-4. Later Zhao Shao downed Ali Faisal 3-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-4.

APP adds: Later talking with news correspondents, the Chinese players thanked Pakistanis for their overwhelming hospitality.

They said they were impressed with Pakistan culture and felt at ease amongst sincere pakistani community.

They said they found the conditions in this country peaceful and reasurring.

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