Table Tennis: Chen displays finest form

THE English national champion, Chen Xinhua, followed his conquest of the world champion on Saturday with another fine performance yesterday that did much to scupper the chances of the Olympic champion, writes James Leigh in Hanover.

Chen beat Jean-Philippe Gatien, as he frequently does, in straight games and in yesterday's quarter-finals of the European Masters Cup here taxed Jan-Ove Waldner so much that the hero of Barcelona was unable to fight his way from a tight corner for a second time an hour later, unexpectedly losing 22-20, 17-21, 22-20, 21-10 to his Swedish compatriot, Peter Karlsson.

The tournament became another triumph for the world No 1 from Belgium, Jean-Michel Saive, who beat Karlsson in straight games in the final.