S. Korea Edged By World Table Tennis All-Stars

PUCHON, S. Korea - World Championship finalist Joo Se-hyuk claimed a second straight win but Athens Olympic gold medalist Ryu Seung-min suffered a defeat at the KT&G World Top's Table Tennis Festival in Puchon, Kyonggi Province.

Wang Hao

The two-day event pits the world's top players against Korean top table tennis players.

Joo, world No. 19, led a full-set thriller against 10th-ranked Kalinikos Kreanga of Greece and won 8-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8. Earlier in Thursday's match, he beat reigning world champion Werner Schlager of Austria in four games.

Joo Se-hyuk

The 25-year-old defensive player had a shaky start dealing with Kreanga's turbulent topspin attacks in the first three games but his best had yet to come. Joo took control with persistent returning choppers to induce the Greek's attacking errors, which worked well in the late phase of the last two games. Joo brought the heated battle to an end by countering Kreanga's return with a full-swing topspin.

Kalinikos Kreanga

However, Ryu failed to stretch his advantage over Wang Hao of China, his match-up in Athens final, and lost 15-13, 5-11, 11-2, 12-10. With the result, Ryu records 1-6 against the world No.3 Chinese.

Ryu got off to a shaky start failing to keep a 10-8 lead and lost in a deuce battle in the first game. The 5th-ranked Korean made it even sooner but easily lost the third game. Ryu had it neck-and-neck and faced a 10-8 game point in the fourth set but only before losing four straight points to his opponent to end the game.

Ryu Seung-min

"I would have managed an easier match if I kept a 10-8 lead and won the first game. My ball-hitting sense was fine, but I was a bit tired and some jet lag got in my way," said Ryu, who arrived back home from Austria on Wednesday after playing as a six-month loan player for a local club SVS.

Timo Boll

"Since I lost this time, I will try to be better at the April's World Championships in China," he added.

In other matches, Oh Sang-eun lost to Schlager in straight sets and Choi Hyun-jin was defeated by world No. 4 Timo Boll of Germany in full sets.

On the previous day, Ryu, beat Kreanga in four sets 4-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6. Joo defeated world Schlager, who frustrated him in the World Championship final in 2003, 10-12, 11-7, 15-13, 12-10.

Oh Sang-eun

Penholder Ryu, who returned home on Wednesday from Austria, where he played as a loan player for a local club SVS in the European league for six months, struggled in the first set but soon took control of the match and did not trail for the rest of the game as his trademark topspins got back on track.

Defensive player Joo ran a thriller against the Austrian, forcing three sets to deuce, but managed to claim victory by keeping his edge in three straight sets. His chopping-back skills combined with sharp attacks worked efficiently, inducing Schlager's errors.

Werner Schlager

Two other Koreans, however, suffered setbacks. Oh Sang-eun was edged out by former European champion Timo Boll of Germany in full sets 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4. Choi Hyun-jin lost to Wang Hao in straight sets 11-8, 11-4, 12-10.

To the viewing crowd's delight, a special 21 point exhibition match was held wherein any player from either side could participate in the point. This led to some spectacular free-style, demonstration points, with lobs, countering loop drives and smiling players all around. At one point, all eight players came to the table to keep the ball in play and the crowd roaring. While the intent of the tournament was to show off the high-level of S. Korean table tennis relative to the best the world has to offer, the unique group game brought everyone together with good nature and laughter.

For a limited time, the eight-player exhibition match can be downloaded from Table Tennis Dayton. To obtain access to the 45 MB .asf file, register into the online forum Table Tennis Talk and request the file.