by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
Adina Diaconu and Bernadette Szocs arguably caused the biggest upset of the round by beating the combination of Sweden’s Matilda Ekholm and Georgina Pota, the no.4 seeds and former ITTF World Tour Women’s Doubles winners. In 2016 they won in the Czech Republic, last year in India.
Impressively, the Adina Diaconu and Bernadette Szocs emerged successful in four games (11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5).
Success for Adina Diaconu and Bernadette Szocs against a well-established partnership, for Daniela Monteiro-Dodean and Elizabeta Samara, it was success against a pairing currently in fine form. They overcame the pairing of Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova and the Czech Republic’s Hana Matelova, the no.7 seeds and runners up the previous week at the ITTF Challenge Polish Open; the Romanian succeeding in four games (11-9, 10-12, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5).
Two upsets and there were two more. Thailand’s Orawang Paranang and Suthasini Sawettabut accounted for India’s Manika Batra and Mouma Das, the no.6 seeds, in a full distance five games encounter decided by the very narrowest of margins (11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 10-12, 11-9). In a rather more comfortable manner, Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsien-Tzu and Liu Hsing-Yin accounted for Germany’s Petrissa Solja and Sabine Winter, the no.8 seeds (11-5, 11-7, 11-5).
It was the end of the road for the host nation; earlier in the evening Han Ying and Nina Mittelham had lost to Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching, the no.2 seeds (11-7, 11-5, 11-8).
Success for the second seeds, there was also success for the top seeds and for the third seeds.
Japan’s Hina Hayata and Mima Ito, the pair named at the head of the order beat the combination of Spain’s Maria Xiao and Canada’s Zhang Mo (11-8, 13-11, 12-10), Korea’s Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun, the winners last week in Poland, ended the aspirations of Thailand’s Tamolwan Khetkhuan and Nanthana Komwong (12-10, 11-3, 7-11, 11-5).
The quarter-final round of the Women’s Doubles event will be played on Friday 23rd March.
