Heister outs Olympic champion Ryu! (Shanghai 2005)

It is certainly a day for shocks, isn’t it? Netherlands’ Danny Heister has managed to stun the crowd and his opponent alike, as he showed the door to the Olympic champion Ryu Seungmin!

The Korea Republic international has been a fan favorite to go deep into the knock-out stages of the World Championships, but the Dutch Heister clearly had other plans. Winning 4-3 (11-7, 12-10, 10-12, 12-10, 11-13, 8-11, 11-4), he never look like was out of control and quite unlike himself Ryu, never looked to have a way to beat back down the intensity of Heister’s shots! What a way to kick-start this tournament!

He Zhiwen wins European classic! (Shanghai 2005)

Welcome to the 2005 World Table Tennis Championships in Shanghai, where we have had an explosive start to the proceedings on May 2nd! Two Europeans have clashed in spectacular fashion, and the rest was anyone’s best guess.

Spain’s He Zhiwen looked out of sorts in the first two games as Austria’s Werner Schlager took the lead, winning two games by 11-7 each. At the end of  the fourth game, with Schalger leading 3-1, it seemed to be the end for He, but boy were we mistaken! The Spanish athlete came roaring back into the match, beating his European colleague in a seven game thriller, as he won 4-3 (7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-1)!