Deying. In the same event she won an additional ten titles, with different partners, at international meets. She was also successful in mixed doubles: she won the world title with Zhenhua (1981), and eight international tournaments.

After her flop in Pyongyang Cao came to Novi Sad (1981) as a pronounced favourite with quite a string of wins to her credit. Everything seemed to show that she would gain the title in singles: she smoothly disposed of Kanda (Japan), Kruger (Germany), Popova (Russia) and her compatriot Huang Jungun. In the semi-final she drew a deep breath after defeating South Korea's Li Sung Ja 25-23 in the fifth game. However, after a major battle, she lost in the final to .

Two years later, she tried her best in Tokyo, lost only one game up to the final... and another in the duel with Yang Young Ja of South Korea. finally and officially became the best woman player in the world!

Cao Yanhua was an explosive player with a murderous She defended her title in Gothenburg (1985) "I surprised topspin, an incredibly fast forehand attack and sound blocks. some of my opponents by placing grass on one side of the She was also an excellent server, with high 'tennis' forehand racket instead of antispin, and thereby changed somewhat the and backhand serves having varied rotations, which puzzled technique of backhand attacks and serving." her opponents. With her fast legs, always on tiptoe, she was ready to attack at any moment. She used inverted rubber. A She was very cross when she was omitted, albeit a world pacer, sustaining continuously the initiative, she was in a champion, from the Corbillon Cup team. She just sat on the nutshell a woman player who performed like a man. bench and thirsted for revenge. In the singles, extraordinarily motivated, she played as if in a trance and eliminated three Cao Yanhua was bom in on 1 December 1962. She compatriots - Tong Ling, 3-1, Qi Baoxiang, 3-2, and, in the was attracted by sports, ball games in particular, since final, Geng Lijuan in four games. childhood. At the age fifteen she went on a tour in Japan, and defeated the leading local players, including Kawagiashi; at a In the late eighties, Cao Yanhua set out with her husband Shi singles tournament she placed third. Zhihao for Europe in order to capitalize on her knowledge, and played several seasons in the Donauworth Club This extraordinary player won the world singles champ­ (Germany). ionships twice: in Tokyo and in Gothenburg! Her world medal tally (eleven) includes as many as seven gold, and two silver and bronze medals. She was also successful at many international meets outside the People's Republic of : in * * * 1978 she won the Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpur after accounting for Yang Ying 3-1. After a one-year break and The burden of glory appeared to weigh heavily on some variable achievement (at the 1979 world championships she Chinese men and women players after the Novi Sad World went down to Magos of Hungary 2-3) she set out on her hunt for Championships. They became conceited, vain, and began to trophies: the 1980 West German Open (Bu Quian 3-0); the practice less. Some fell in love, while others were mainly Shanghai Tournament ( 3-1); the Asian-African- concerned about their own image of top-notch athletes and Latin American Friendship Tournament in Tokyo (Qi world champions. Baoxiang 3-1); the Scandinavian Open in Kalkskrona (Zhang Deying 3-1); the French Open in Evry (Pak Yung Sun 3-1). In 1981 she won the Canadian Open in Toronto and the Chinese championships (ahead of Geng Lijuan, and Tong * * * Ling). She excelled particularly at the Asian Championships in Djakarta, where she was victorious in all the four events, and , Cao Yanhua and self-critically at the in (Tong Ling 3-0). In 1983 she admitted the errors of their ways. Li Furong was particularly won the Asian Cup in (Tong Ling 3-1), and in 1984 the rigorous in his private criticism of Cao Yanhua, who had Polish Open in Poznan. become overly sensitive and engrossed in her own problems. The talk helped, Cao again started to pay more attention to In 1983 Cao won the world women's doubles title with Zhang training and won the world title in Tokyo.

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