World No. 2 Guo Yue failed to clinch a medal at the women's singles table tennis of the 6th Chinese City Games after losing 1-4 against national teammate Cao Zhen on Thursday in central Chinese city of Wuhan.

World No. 2 Guo Yue failed to clinch a medal at the women's singles table tennis of the 6th Chinese City Games after losing 1-4 against national teammate Cao Zhen on October 25, 2007 in central Chinese city of Wuhan. [Photo: sport.org.cn]

Guo, who claimed her first world title after denying world No. 1 Zhang Yining and uprising star Li Xiaoxia last May in Zagreb, succumbed 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10 to Cao, representing Binzhou of east China province, Shandong.

The third set should have been the turning point for Guo, who played a superb 9-1 run to recover from 2-5 down to win it 11-6, but the 19-year-old of northern Shenyang gave up a perfect chance of making comeback while leading 10-6 in the fourth set, allowing her rival six points in a row to lose it 12-10.

Earlier Thursday afternoon, Guo was beaten 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-2, 11-4 in a semifinal by fellow national team paddler Ding Ning to miss a world championships final rematch against Zagreb runner-up Li Xiaoxia, making the biggest upset of the day.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2007)