by Wade Townsend

Kasumi Ishikawa is on course for a fifth All Japan Championship title after posting a 4-0 win over Natsumi Miyake this morning.

Standing in her way will be defender Hitomi Sato who defeated Rika Suzuki 4-2.

Ishikawa is clear favourite for the match, leading Sato 3-0 head to head in international events, having only dropped on game in their three encounters.

On the opposite half of the draw Miu Hirano had her closest encounter yet when she went up against Marina Matsuzawa.

Hirano was pushed to six games, losing the third and fourth in deuce. The fifth game proved decisive, with Hirano narrowly taking it 11-9. The 16 year then cruised to an 11-6 victory to progress to the semi-final.

In the final match of the session, Honoka Hashimoto won the battle of the defenders, scoring an impressive 4-1 win over Yuka Ishigaki.

With the win Hashimoto has guaranteed a new addition to her medal collection to go along with the silver medal she won in the Junior Girls’ Singles at the 2016 All Japan Championships.

The first semi-final match will start tomorrow at 10.00am local time.