by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Success against the odds for Lin Yun-Ju; he was one of two unexpected names to book a last eight place; the other was Kang Dongsoo.

The Korean defender in the mould of compatriot Joo Saehyuk, continued his good form; he accounted for India’s Sanil Shetty in four straight games (11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8).

Defeat for India but there was success with Amalraj Anthony, the no.6 seed and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, the no.5 seed, keeping the country’s medal hopes alive. Each ended the hopes of a player who had been required to compete in the two day qualification tournament.

Amalraj Anthony overcame Singapore’s Pang Xue Jie (11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8), Sathiyan Gnanasekaran ended the hopes of Japan’s Masato Kakitsuka (11-5, 11-1, 11-5, 11-8).

Likewise, for Korea there was further success; Park Jeongwoo, the no.8 seed, halted the progress of Sun Chia-Hung, like Lin Yun-Ju from Chinese Taipei. Impressively, the speedy left handed Korean emerged successful in four straight games (11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9).

Success for Park Jeongwoo; it was the same for the leading names on duty; Singapore’s Gao Ning alongside the Japanese duo of Kenji Matsudaira and Jin Ueda, the respective top three seeds in the Men’s Singles event, all recorded second round wins.

Gao Ning beat Chinese Taipei’s Yeh Chih-Wei (13-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5); Kenji Matsudaira accounted for compatriot Keiya Uemura (11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9), whilst Jin Ueda also caused Chinese Taipei heartache. He ended the progress of Yang Heng-Wei, the no.9 seed (11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6).

Both Yeh Chih-Wei and Keiya Uemura were qualifiers.

In the round of the last eight, Gao Ning meets Lin Yun-Ju, Amalraj Anthony opposes Kang Dongsoo; in the adjacent half of the draw Jin Ueda confronts Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Park Jeongwoo plays Kenji Matsudaira.

Photos: Nakares Teerakhamsri