by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
An air of confidence; that was transmitted to the opening round of the Women’s Doubles competition.
Required to compete in the preliminary round, the duo accounted for Germany’s Han Ying and Shan Xiaona, the no.8 seeds, to reserve their place in the last eight (11-5, 11-8, 12-10).
“We needed to be very active; I felt comfortable receiving from either player, against Shan I tried to play short to stop her attacking quickly. Also we know each other well; they rarely play together, so that gave us an advantage”, Barbora Balazova
“I have to say that I was happier when Barbora received from Han Ying; I was more comfortable that way round”, Hana Matelova
Defeat for the eighth seeds, there was also defeat for the fourth seeds and winners the previous week in India; Sweden’s Matilda Ekholm and Hungary’s Georgina Pota experienced defeat at the hands of China’s Chen Meng and Wang Manyu (9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-4).
Otherwise for the leading pairs it was success.
Korea’s Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun, the top seeds, beat Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsien-Tzu and Lin Chia-Chih (11-7, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8); Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching, the no.2 seeds, accounted for the combination formed by Turkey’s Hu Melek and Singapore’s Zeng Jian (11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9).
Likewise, Li Jie of the Netherlands and Poland’s Li Qian proved to be in perfect harmony; the no.3 seeds, they ended the hopes of Hungary’s Dora Madarasz and Szandra Pergel (11-4, 11-4, 11-2).
