Chinese Li takes TT gold in controversial final

London: Li Xiaoxia of China beat teammate Ding Ning in a controversial Olympic women`s singles table tennis final here Wednesday.

Li, 24, won 11-8, 14-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4. The fourth game saw controversy that reduced Ding Ning, the top-ranked world champion, to tears and effectively ended her challenge. With Li 8-2 up, Ding was shown a red card for dissent after approaching the umpire about a serve fault. Ding did not appear to be protesting, and seemed to have merely made a polite inquiry. Visibly distraught, Ding was unable to maintain the fight and capitulated 4-11 in the final game. Earlier Wednesday, Feng Tianwei of Singapore won the bronze medal match, destroying Japan`s Kasumi Ishikawa four games to nil. It was Singapore`s third medal in Olympic history, a feat that left Feng, who won team silver in Beijing, visibly moved as she left the arena. IANS