Chinese players took three gold medals on Saturday in the ProTour table tennis tournament of the Croatian Open 2006, which started in Zagreb on Tuesday.

The men and women's doubles finals as well as women's single final were all Chinese affairs.

Chen Qi and Wang Hao beat Lei Zhenhua and Li Ping 4-2 to win their first ever men's doubles title as a partnership on the ITTF ProTour, whilst Li Nan and Zhang Yining overcame Guo Yue and Li Xiaoxia 4-0 to capture their fourth career ITTF ProTour crown as women's doubles pairing.

The third Chinese title was won by Guo Yue. The 17-year-old player beat her compatriot and top-seeded Zhang Yining in the women's singles event.

Guo Yue

Meanwhile, in the men's singles event, Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus retained his title beating China's Chen Qi 4-3 by the narrowest of seven game margins.

"I had very good support in Zagreb," said Samsonov. "In the quarters, semis and final I was on the borderline, all those matches were close." He had played three matches against Chinese opposition, Ma Long, Hao Shuai and Chen Qi, and he beat them all.

Over 400 players have taken part in the US$100,000 tournament, which features the men and women's singles and doubles competitions.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2006)