Chinese Taipei ousted South Korea 3-2 in the semifinals this morning. In the first match, South Korean Joo Se Hyuk Taipei used twenty minutes to beat Chuan Chih-Yuan from Chinese Taipei 21-14 and 21-11. But Chinese Taipei rallied 2-1 after its top paddler Chiang Peng-Lung used his superior firepower to nip Park Sang Joon 21-19, 21-8 and Chang Yen-Shu eliminated Kim Nam-Soo 21-10, 23-21.

In the third match, top paddlers from both team clashed. Chiang Peng-Lung obviously didn't fit the chopping style of Joo Se Hyuk. After rallied from 13-17 behind to win the first set 21-17, Chiang lost the rest two with straight sets 21-8, 21-9.

It was more of the same in the winning match, but it was Chuan Chih-Yuan who came from behind to beat Park Sang Joon 22-24, 21-16 and 21-15. Park managed to score 6 points in a row to win the first set, but was not that lucky in the following two sets.

"Chiang Peng-Lung don't have much experience facing a chopper, and he is not in his best form." said Shen Chi-Ping, coach of Chinese Taipei team, after the game. "It was a competition of psychology, and we won." added Shen Chi-Ping.

Looking forward to the finals in the evening, Shen said, "China have somewhat advantage over us and we won't put undue pressure on our players."

"We were lucky to win the title at Shanghai's World University Table Tennis Championships," said Chiang Peng-Lung, who is considered favorite at the singles event, "We will try hard in the final."

In women's team, South Korea snatched an easy 3-0 win over Japan and will face China in the finals.

(Xinhua News Agency 08/25/2001)