by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager

The win meant that he very much emulated the efforts of elder brother, Maharu Yoshimura; earlier in the evening he had beaten, Egypt’s Omar Assar, the no.6 seed (11-3, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7).

Success for Kazuhiro and Maharu Yoshimura; quite possibly it is the first time at an ITTF World Tour tournament when, at the same event, two brothers have reached the last eight. It is a feat not yet achieved by Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan and Nima Alamian; also I don’t think that Belgium’s Jean-Michel Saive and Philippe Saive ever gained the distinction.

One upset as play in the second round of the Men’s Singles event came to a close; in the remaining three second round Men’s Singles engagements, it was as status advised.

Korea’s Lee Sangsu, the no.2 seed, beat Japan’s Jin Ueda, the no.12 seed (11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7); Portugal’s Marcos Freitas, the no.4 seed, ended the hopes of Africa by overcoming Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna, the no.13 seed (13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 13-11, 10-12, 11-6).

“It was a very tough match and I’m happy to win as I lost twice to Aruna before. He is a very strong player with a powerful forehand. I tried some new tactics today. I was quite upset after losing the match points at when leading three-one. However, I regained my concentration and played well at the sixth game. I will focus on the following matches and try to stay focused.” Marcos Freitas

Meanwhile, in the all Korean duel, both players having been required to compete in the qualification tournament, Lim Jonghoon accounted for Kim Donghyun in a full distance seven games encounter (8-11, 12-14, 11-4, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-7); presently on the Men’s World Rankings, Lim Jonghoon is listed at no.39, Kim Donghyun at no.80.

At the semi-final stage, Marcos Freitas meets Lim Jonghoon, Kazuhiro Yoshimura opposes Lee Sangsu; the quarter-final and semi-final matches will be played on Saturday 26th May.