Top Asian player Na Li of China has blamed her semifinal loss to Sania Mirza on noisy Indian supporters at the Doha Asian Games while praised the Hyderabadi for playing well.
BEIJING: Top Asian player Na Li of China has blamed her semifinal loss to Sania Mirza on noisy Indian supporters at the Doha Asian Games while praised the Hyderabadi for playing well.
The world number 21 Li, who lost to 66th ranked Sania in the women's singles semifinal on Tuesday, said she was used to playing in a comparatively quiet circumstances.
"The loud cheer from the Indian supporters affected me a lot," she was quoted as saying by the China Youth Daily.
Chinese women's tennis team head coach Jiang Hongwei said that Li's defeat was not due to playing skills, but the loss of morale and determination to fight till the end.
He also admitted to be bitter about the losses, saying Chinese players were fragile and irresponsible.
Li, who committed 27 unforced errors, said she needed a professional coach to guide her at this level.
"As a professional player I should have my own professional coach to instruct. But I don't have one till now," she said.
Li also acknowledged Sania's excellent performance. "She just played really, really well and there was nothing I could do about it," said 24-year-old, who made history for Chinese by reaching last eight at the Wimbledon Open this year.
"She deserved to win," Li was quoted as saying, which praised Sania and pointed out that she played some of the best tennis of her career by defeating top seed Li Na.
China's top tennis officials have also blasted their top ranking women's tennis players as chokers for the lackluster performance at the Games, especially for losing to lower-ranking players, including Sania.
"There is nothing wrong their techniques and experience. But it's terribly wrong with their minds," said furious Chinese Tennis Chief Sun Jinfang.
They criticised the mediocre performances from women's tennis players who lost their singles and doubles semi-finals on Wednesday, saying their was a lack of professionalism in the players.
China's Olympic champions Li Ting and Sun Tiantian lost their doubles semi-final to Chan Yung Jan and Chuang Chia Jung from Chinese Taipei in a score of 6-3, 6-2.
Moreover, Leander Paes and Sania also defeated the Chinese pair of Yu Xinyuan/Sun Tiantian 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the mixed doubles semi-finals.
"Li Na, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian are absolutely strong enough to win gold medals. But they haven't reached a level of professionalism on which they are supported to be," said Sun, also Director of the Chinese Tennis Administrative Centre.
"It's normal to make mistakes and lag behind in the competition. But as professional players, you should never just give up. It doesn't matter if you lose a game. It matters a lot if you lose the spirit of fighting. You should keep level-headed when you enter a game. World rankings don't mean anything. You have to face the challenge from lower-ranked but hard-fighting rivals. These Chinese players are chokers when pressure is mounting," he added.
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