by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Chiao and Wang Yi-Ju proved their nemesis; after holding a two games to nil lead, the Japanese duo experienced defeat by the very narrowest of margins in a hard fought full distance five games (5-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9).
“I think our mind-set was good. At first we didn’t feel that we could win, in the beginning I was unable to motivate myself. Afterwards we changed our tactics; then we played more relaxed. Our tactics were proved correct. We focused more on the first three strokes and improved the quality of serving. At the beginning of the fifth game we were behind but we gave our best and did not give up. We stuck to our tactics and won the match in the end.” Huang Yu-Chiao
“I tried to do my best and I did not think whether we could win or not; their speed was really fast at the beginning, I felt we couldn’t do anything in the first two games. Later we did better at receiving the serve and the result is good. We had never played against them before. For me and my partner Huang, we have not played doubles often; here we were given a chance to prove ourselves.” Wang Yi-Ju
Otherwise, it was success for the leading partnerships with both Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong experiencing mixed fortunes.
Chen Szu-Yu and Huang Yu-Wen suffered defeat at the hands of Korea’s Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun, the no.2 seeds, whilst Kuo Chia-Yun in partnership with Angela Guan of the United States lost to Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching, the no.3 seeds (11-7, 11-3, 11-8).
Success for Hong Kong but conversely there was defeat; Ng Wing Nam and Minnie Soo Wai Yam experienced a reverse at the hands of China’s Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling (11-7, 11-8, 11-9).
Likewise, for Korea there were differing fortunes. Success for Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun but it was defeat for Lee Hyunju and Park Joohyun as it was for Choi Hyojoo and Jung Yumi. Japan’s Hina Hayata and Mima Ito, the no.5 seeds, beat Choi Hyojoo and Jung Yumi (11-9, 11-3, 12-10); Singapore’s Lin Ye and Zhou Yihan, the no.6 seeds, overcame Choi Hyojoo and Jung Yumi (11-7, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9).
Meanwhile, in the one remaining opening round Women’s Doubles contest, Germany’s Han Ying and Shan Xiaona, the no.7 seeds, ended the hopes of the combination formed by Austria’s Sofia Polcanova and Canada’s Zhang Mo (4-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8).
China’s Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen, the top seeds, received a direct entry to the last eight.
At the quarter-final stage Ding and Liu Shiwen meet Han Ying and Shan Xiaona; Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching confront Lin Ye and Zhou Yihan. In the opposite half of the draw Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling meet Hina Hayata and Mima Ito; Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun play Huang Yu-Chiao and Wang Yi-Ju.
The quarter-final and semi-final matches will be played on Friday 23rd June.
