By Sportswriter Su Bin
LIEGE, Belgium, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Following his glittering performance in September, Chinese young paddler Lin Gaoyuan hoped to continue his momentum in his maiden appearance at the ITTF Men's World Cup.
"Every athlete wants to win, but more importantly, I need to focus on what I'm doing, and fight in every match until the end," he told Xinhua here on Friday.
One day ahead of his opening match at the tournament, Lin was actively involved in his pregame training with top seed Ma Long in Country Hall de Liege, an eastern Belgian city.
Lin stormed to fame in September, as he beat teammate Fan Zhendong, another Chinese promising paddler, to claim the Asian Cup title, one week before he upset Yan An and won at the ITTF World Tour Austrian Open.
Lin effectively surprised many people as early as this March, when he secured a ticket to the World Championships through fierce qualifications among Chinese top-level paddlers.
"Winning at these two tournaments (the Asian Cup and the Austrian Open) would undoubtedly give me a huge boost in my confidence," admitted Lin.
However, it was not plain and safe for Lin to lift the Asian Cup. He surrendered a two-game lead to Jun Mizutani of Japan in his group stage opener, before regrouping himself en route to the title.
In a similar scenario in the World Championships round of 16 in Dusseldorf, Lin wasted five match points before losing to teammate Xu Xin.
"Experience is what I'm lacking now," Lin said, adding that he can see his problems in a clearer way facing those top-level opponents.
"Athletically speaking, I'm not too far away from those players. I can overcome many strong opponents just in terms of this factor.
"But table tennis is a complex of different factors, such as experience, mentality and performance on the court, and that is not my strength," he commented.
Securing his World Cup spot as the continental cup winner, Lin showed his ambition in Friday's interview, while emphasizing his own performance throughout the tournament.
"I'm a rookie in this competition, and have to attach great importance to what I'm doing now with my ambition ahead. Play well in every match, and the result will finally come to you," Lin said.
Lin and Ma, both among top eight seeds, will kick off their World Cup campaign here from Saturday.
"I will not consider too much about my opponents. The most important thing is to play to my best in every match," said Lin.
