by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
Both outfits entered the concluding fixture unbeaten; moreover, when matters commenced it appeared a Rio de Janeiro result was the favourite outcome.
Li Qian and Xue Juan secured the doubles (6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7), before Yoon Jiyu accounted for Xue Juan (11-13, 14-12, 4-11, 11-5, 11-5) and Lee Migyu overcame Li Qian (4-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-4) to seal the victory.
At the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Seo Suyeon had also been a member of the Korean outfit, as had Liu Jing for China. However, in the gold medal fixture, Li Qian and Xue Juan were the players selected against Croatia’s Helena Dretar and Andela Muzinic. Notably they recorded a two-two win.
Success for the Koreans meant that Yoon Jiyu secured her second title of the tournament; earlier in the individual events, she had won the Class 2-3 title.
Similarly, China’s Zhou Ying and Mao Jingdian added team gold to individual gold; Zhou Ying, who had won Class 4, emerged successful in the same category in the team events alongside colleague Gu Xiaodan. Mao Jingdian, the winner in Class 8 in the individual events, partnered compatriot, Li Guiying to the Class 6-8 Team title.
In a group organised event, Zhou Ying and Gu Xiaodan, the top seeds, finished ahead of Chinese Taipei’s Lu Pi-Chun and Lee Ya-Chu; India’s Bhavina Patel and Sonaben Patel concluded matters in third place.
Meanwhile, Mao Jingdian and Li Guiying, likewise the top seeds, accounted for Wang Rui and Yu Hailian at the final hurdle; a two matches to one outcome being order the day. Backbone of the victory was Mao Jingdian; she joined forces with Li Guiying to win the doubles (11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6), before in the concluding match of the engagement accounting for Wang Rui (11-6, 11-9, 11-6).
Gold for China, it was the same in Class 9-10 but against expectations; in a group arranged event, Hou Chunxiao and Zhao Xiaojing, the no.3 seeds, ended matters ahead of colleagues, Xiong Guiyan, Liu Meng and Kong Wenjie, the top seeds.
The combination of Chinese Taipei’s Tian Shiau-Wen and Australia’s Andrea McDonnell finished in third position.
2017 Thailand Para Open: Latest Results and Forthcoming Matches