Chinese Wang wins women's Xiangqi gold at World Mind Sports Games
9/10/2008 17:30
Chinese Xiangqi player Wang Linna was crowned in the women's individual
event of the World Mind Sports Games, after upsetting Yu Xiaolan from the
Netherlands in the final round in Beijing today.
Wang won the gold medal with
an undefeated record but the margin over the silver medallist was rather close.
Wang and her compatriot Zhao Guanfang both accumulated 13 points in the
seven-round competition.
Wang finally secured the gold because of a better
rivals' points, suggesting that Wang have encountered stronger rivals in the
tournament.
"I am excited with this results. After all it is the World Mind
Sports Games, and in some sense it is just like the Olympic Games for mind
sports. So being the champion means much more for me," said the 28-year-old Wang
after the match.
Being one of the best female Xiangqi players in China, Wang
earned six victories during the competition, only to draw with her teammate
Zhao. Talking about that match, Wang could not hide her regret.
"I did not
play well in that match, leaving too many chances to the opponent. I think Zhao
was too nervous to beat me at that time, or I could not have earned one point
from that match," said Wang, who started to learn Xiangqi at the age of eight
and won her first national title in 1997.
"I hope this gold medal could be a
good start for Chinese female Xiangqi players. Hopefully, my teammates can win
another gold for China in the women's team event," added Wang, coming from
Heilongjiang Province in northeast China.
The silver medallist Zhao said:
"Foreign female Xiangqi players have made great progress in recent years.
Competitors from Vietnam, the Netherlands and Britain have posed huge pressure
for us during the matches."
The bronze went to Vietnamese Ngo Lan Huong, who
was such a "player with great progress". In 2007 Asian Indoor Games held in
Macau, she even defeated Chinese player to claim title in the individual
event.
The first World Mind Sports Games, which officially opened on last
Friday night, attracted more than 3,000 players from 143 countries and regions.
Bridge, Chess, Go, Draughts and Xiangqi are on the program. There are 35 gold
medals on offer, including five in Xiangqi.
Xinhua
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