DOHA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's soft tennis players, bidding for repeating their gold medal haul at the Busan Asian Games 2002, started their defending campaign under pressure at the Khalifa Soft Tennis Courts here on Saturday.
South Korea had a clean sweep of the gold medals in all seven disciplines in Busan. However, with the sport's popularity increasing, South Korea's dominance is no longer guaranteed.
Youngsters from Chinese Taipei, Japan and China have been successful in recent competitions, including the 2005 East Asian Games in Macao, China and the Asian Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2004.
The sport's high profile player, Wang Chun Yen from Chinese Taipei, outplayed Kwon Choi Bong of South Korea at the East Asian Games to win the men's singles title while Japan's Sosei Sugano won the bronze medal.
Wang's dominance has not been restricted to the singles event. He also had success in the doubles and secured gold with his now-retired partner Fang Tung-Hsien at the East Asian Games.
The world number two, Tsuneo Takagawa from Japan, is also full of confidence after silver medal success at the 2004 Asian championships.
The 33-year-old veteran also combined with Shigeo Nakahori in the men's doubles to win the bronze at the East Asian Games.
Harumi Gyokusen of Japan is the favorite in the women's singles. The 27-year-old won gold at the East Asian Games after edging past South Korea's Kim Ji Eun. She also dominated the women's doubles with her compatriot Ayumi Ueshima.
The soft tennis competition will start with the team event, which is followed by the mixed doubles on Dec. 4, the men's and women's singles on Dec. 5 and the doubles on Dec. 7.
Soft tennis has been played since the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China, when it was an exhibition sport. It became official at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan.
Soft tennis is a racquet sport on a rectangular court. Its rules are similar to regular tennis. What sets it apart is a softer ball and lighter racquets which bring long rallies.
