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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
LONDON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Top seed Zhang Jike of China beat Jiang Tianhyi of Hong Kong, China, in five sets to cruise1 into the men's singles semifinals at the Olympic table tennis tournament2 on Wednesday.
The world champion, world number one and hot favorite won 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9 and 11-6 against his childhood good friend, No. 11 seed.
Zhang, appearing relaxed, said he felt less pressured than two days ago. "I feel much better now. The pressure was huge two days ago. Jiang and I are very familiar with each other. So I feel more comfortable today."
Zhang narrowly made into the quarterfinals on Monday, after being dragged into a tight3 seven-set match by five-time Olympian Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
Asked why his coach Liu Guoliang touched his ears at the break after the fourth set, Zhang said Liu told him to relax. "He said I already led Jiang 3-1, and there this no need to play so cautiously4."
Jiang, who moved to Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland5 in 2005, said he trained together with Zhang Jike in east China's Shandong Province since they were 11. And they both later entered the national youth team. "We were good friends and know each other's playing style very well."
Jiang said it was pity that he didn't take the chance and win the fourth set when he was at 9-9 with Zhang. "I think any player competing against China would feel pressured in the clutch6 moment. But generally I think I played well."
Zhang will face Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the semifinals on Thursday. Ovtcharov entered the top four after a seven-set tight match against Denmark's Michael Maze7 on Tuesday.
Talking about Zhang's nervous start to the tournament, coach Liu said it's because Zhang has a target in his mind (a gold medal). "I have talked to him about this. He must forget that he is world number one in order to fully8 realize his potential."
Liu said opponents9 in the semifinals are very tough. "The most important thing to us is to let go all the pressure and really go for it. We are prepared for hard battles. But we are confident that we will win."
Zhang's teammate10 Wang Hao, seeded No. 2, comfortably booked a seat in the semifinal after beating Seiya Kishikawa in four straight sets (11-4, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5), dashing11 Japan's last hope of claiming an Olympic medal in table tennis singles events in London.
Wang, twice Olympic silver medalist, said he had prepared for a hard game against Kishikawa but it turned out all right.
Wang will face Chuang Chih-Yuan of Chinese Taipei, No. 5 seed, in the semifinal. Chuang entered the semifinal after beating Romania's Adrian Crisan 4-0.
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1
cruise
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v.巡航,航游,缓慢巡行;n.海上航游 | |
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2
tournament
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n.比赛,竞赛,锦标赛 | |
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3
tight
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adj.紧的;难解的;紧密的 | |
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4
cautiously
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adv.小心地,谨慎地;小心翼翼;翼翼 | |
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5
mainland
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n.大陆,本土 | |
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6
clutch
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v.(牢牢地)抓住,抓紧,紧握;n.离合器 | |
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7
maze
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n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑 | |
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8
fully
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adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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9
opponents
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n.对手,敌手( opponent的名词复数 );反对者 | |
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10
teammate
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n.队友 | |
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11
dashing
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adj.时髦的,华丽的;劲头十足的;打扮漂亮的;勇敢的,有锐气的v.冲,猛冲(dash的现在分词);猛掷 | |
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