i found this newspaper article on 04 feb 2008

COULD Feng Tianwei be Singapore's new golden girl of table tennis?

The signs are all there, after the spunky 21-year-old blew away the competition to qualify for the Beijing Olympics at a regional qualifier here yesterday.

Feng, who c ame to Singapore just 10 months ago, trounced Thailand's top player Nanthana Komwong 11 -5, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 to win the women's singles final at the South-east As ian Olympic qualifiers.

The result meant that she will join the Republic's to p female paddlers - Wang Yuegu and Li Jiawei - in Beijing.

Local officials are already hailing her as the sport's new hope in Singapore.

'She's the most promising player we have discovered in the last two years,' said Antony Lee, the high perf ormance manager at the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA).

'Apart from her ski lls with the bat, she is also a very clever player - very disciplined and very k nowledgeable. These are all attributes of a top player.'

Feng's rise in Singa pore has been nothing short of meteoric.

The STTA was first alerted to her potential early last year, when she was playing in a Japanese professional league.

She was pe rsuaded to make the switch to Singapore in March, and soon made her debut as an Under-21 player on the International Table Tennis Federation's Pro Tour.

The right-han ded Heilongjiang native was a revelation, winning the U-21 women's crown at Dece mber's Pro Tour Grand Finals in Beijing.

The result made her the world's top youth player who was not representing China.

China do not send representatives to the U-2 1 tournament.

Feng even came close to beating teammate Li Jiawei in the final of the women's singles at last year's Taiwan Open.

She gave the world No8 an d 2004 Olympic semi-finalist an almighty fright before going down 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 7-1 1, 11-9, 5-11.

Currently ranked 28th in the world, Feng first picked up a bat at the age of five, before going on to join China's national 'B' squad.

She received Singapore citizenship last month - just in time for the Olympic qualifiers.

H er performances impressed the STTA, which awarded her Singapore's lone slot in t he women's singles.

This, after she beat teammates Sun Beibei and Yu Mengyu i n an internal trial and the national coaches had given their feedback.

The association's fa ith in her paid off, as Feng dropped just one game on her way to the final again st Nanthana at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall.

The Thai was on the back foot for m ost of the match, as an aggressive Feng called the shots with her powerful forehand and quick movement.

The Singaporean raced to a three games to love lead.

She then lost the fourth after committing a series of errors, but recovered to close out the match in the fifth.

When her match point was won, Feng heaved a huge sigh of relief. <>'I've been watching the Olympics on television all this time. Finally, I will get the chance to play in one,' she said.

'My family will come to Beijing to watch me, and I hope I can win a medal for Singapore.'

Ng Ser Miang, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) vice-president and International Olympic Committee execu tive board member, was on hand to witness her feat yesterday.

He was also one of the first to congratulate the young paddler.

'She showed great fighting spirit,' he sai d. 'She has great potential to go further and will become a strong member of our Olympic team.'