Table tennis: Li sisters win trans-Tasman clash

9.55pm - By DANIEL GILHOOLY

ATHENS - New Zealand sisters Li Chunli and Karen Li were more than happy to knock an Australian combination out of the Olympic women's doubles table tennis competition here today.

The New Zealanders fought back to win a first round match involving four Chinese-born players, defeating Jian Fang Lay and Miao Miao 12-10 8-11 6-11 11-5 11-2 14-12

The sisters beat the same opponents at the final of the Oceania championships in April and have had the better of their recent clashes.

After losing the first five points of the match, the New Zealand pair bounced back to win the first game but went into a slump over the next two.

However, momentum swung their way in the fourth, their aggressive smashing and cries after winning a point putting their opponents on the back foot. The Australians were well beaten in sets four and five but put up more resistance in the sixth, surviving two match points before succumbing.

The match featured several long, aggressive rallies but the New Zealanders showed more control in some of the tighter rallies, with Chunli particularly effective on return of serve.

The sisters will want to continue the momentum against their next opponents, German pair Nicole Struse and Elke Wosik.

Chunli completed an unbeaten day by defeating American Tawny Banh 11-8 12-10 11-9 8-11 11-9 in their second-round singles match, her first of the competition.

She now faces a monumental challenge to beat world No 1 Yining Zhang of China on Tuesday. New Zealand's third-round women's doubles clash has been scheduled for tomorrow (9.00pm NZT)

- NZPA