59-year-old Ni Xialian shines as Luxembourg upset South Korea in Tennis Championships

CHENGDU: Fifty-nine-year-old paddler Ni Xialian nailed two points and led Luxembourg to win 3-1 over South Korea in the women's team group stage as the World Team Table Tennis Championships got underway here on Friday.

Ni, currently world No. 41, sprang a surprise to see off 16th-ranked Jeon Jihee 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 in a battle of left-handers before she rallied past Lee Zion in full sets, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4.

South Korea, the better team on paper with all its players ranked in the world's top 100, got off to a quick start as Lee breezed past Sarah de Nutte 11-9, 11-4, 11-9, but failed to run away with the tie against Ni's efforts. Tessy Gonderinger was the other point winner for Luxembourg, beating Kim Hayeong 12-10, 11-9, 2-11, 11-9.

A Shanghai native, Ni moved to Luxembourg in the late 1980s. She has represented the European country five times in the Olympic Games and made the podium in the World Table Tennis Championships, pairing with De Nutte in Houston last year. IANS

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