Hou Yingchao of China, winner of the
Men's Singles title at the Eurosib Russian Open in 2006. [ITTF] |
Chinese young gun Hou Yingchao tasted his first ever men's singles title on
the ITTF Pro Tour, as he won the final of the Russian Open table tennis
tournament in St Petersburg.
Hou, the only Chinese participating in the tournament, survived a seven-game
thriller to beat Croatian Zoran Primorac 6-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 4-11 and
11-8.
The 24-year-old Chinese added the doubles crown to his collection. He teamed
up with Lin Ju to win the final 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 and 11-6 over Singapore's
Gao Ning and Yang Zi.
In women's play, top seed Li Jiawei from Singapore pocketed the titles in
both the singles and doubles competition.