London 2012 Table Tennis Final – Li Xiaoxia Wins 4-1

Sports | admin | August 2, 2012 at 9:25 pm

London 2012 Table Tennis Final – Li Xiaoxia Wins 4-1: The 2012 London Olympics continue with a little drama and tears as Ding Ning was defeated 4-1 in the all-Chinese London 2012 table tennis final. Not only that, she blamed the umpire for ruining her ‘Olympic dream’ and sobbed her way away from the gold medal.

Despite being a usual favorite, Ding Ning was punished with three penalties by the Italian umpire Paola Bongelli. This resulted in Li Xiaoxia emerging victorious and a crying Ning blamed umpire Bongelli for her defeat.

Ding spoke to the media amidst choking sobs; she said that she didn’t do very well today because of her opponent and also the umpire. Even though penalties for serving are extremely rare in table tennis, Ding managed to bag two of them. She was penalized by umpire Bongelli twice for failing to throw the ball up vertically.

After two unexpected penalties Ding walked away in sheer exhaustion and exasperation from the table – this mere act caused her to receive a third red card for walking away at the wrong time.

On the other hand, Li Xiaoxia played the entire match with calm nerves in all her glory. The 24-year old player said that this is the best match she has ever played; she added that she is very excited and this was her childhood dream. With a gleaming gold medal hung around her neck, Li said that she performed better than expected and thanks her entire family and friends back home in China for their help and support.

In the end Ding told the media that both their levels are the same and it was just the judge who affected the decision. The Olympics defeat does not change the fact that Ding is the current world champion and world number one.