China smitten with tennis 'angels'

China hailed its surprise Olympic tennis gold medal in the women's doubles at Athens yesterday as a fairy tale come true. "They were like angels bringing their luck down from heaven. There is no praise to properly describe these two," gushed the...

China hailed its surprise Olympic tennis gold medal in the women's doubles at Athens yesterday as a fairy tale come true.

"They were like angels bringing their luck down from heaven. There is no praise to properly describe these two," gushed the official Xinhua news agency.

Li Ting and Sun Tiantian gave China their first Olympic tennis medal on Sunday and stole the headlines as the next Games' hosts eased past their target for Athens of 20 golds.

"A dream they didn't dare to dream come true," declared the Beijing Morning Post after the dark horses beat Spanish second seeds Conchita Martinez and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3 6-3.

The gold was sweet reward for a push to develop tennis in China, far better known for its table tennis, before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

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