by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
A successful day for the top names, it was the same in Class 1 where Indonesia’s Mehran Vaslati and Singapore’s Yeo Kwok Chian progressed to the final.
Likewise in Class 3, Hong Kong’s Ko Hang Yee and Japan’s Tsuyoshi Watanabe advanced to the semi-finals, as in Class 4 did Indonesia’s Adyas Astan and Iran’s Mahdi Masoumiyakhdani. Similarly, in Class 5, the Indonesian duo of Agus Sutanto and Tatok Hardiyanto have reached the penultimate round.
Not to be outdone, the host nation’s David Jacobs and Komet Akbar claimed penultimate places in Class 10.
However, there were surprises. In Class 2, Thailand’s Natthawut Thinathet beat Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ching-Hung, the top seed (11-1, 11-6, 11-6) to secure first place in his group, prior to recording a semi-final success against Iran’s Majid Arabi (11-4, 8-11, 14-12, 11-6). In the final he meets Chen Fu-Kuei, also from Chinese Tapei and the penultimate round winner in opposition to Huang Ching-Hung (11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8).
Furthermore, in Class 8 there was a surprise; no problems for Thailand’s Phisit Wangphonphathansiri, the top seed but there were problems for colleague Komrit Charitsat, the no.2 seed. He had to settle for second place in his group, losing to the host nation’s Banyu Mulyo (11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8).
A place in the main draw reserved but it was an early exit for Komrit Charitsat, he experienced a quarter-final reverse at the hands of Hong Kong’s Lam La Wai (11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9); Banyu Mulyo having finished in first place in the group, gained a direct entry to the semi-finals.
In a similar vein, in Class 9, Hong Kong’s Wong Chi Yin, the top seed, duly progressed to the final but for Tonnie Heijnen of the Netherlands, the no.2 seed, there was an early farewell. He finished in third place in his group behind Chinese Taipei’s Hung Fu-Lung and Iran’s Naser Dehghanpour; the latter making full use of the opportunity presented.
He maintained form to beat Malaysia’s Hong Chin Sing (11-7, 5-11, 11-8, 14-12) and compatriot Hossein Zamanipour (9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8) to reserve his place in the final.
Problems for the second seeds, in Class 11 it was problems for the top seed. Korea’s Jeong Kyuyoung suffered defeat at the hands of Hong Kong’s Leung Chung Yan (8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-2) to finish in second place in his group and thus advanced to the semi-finals. Hong Kong’s Wan Wai Lok, the no.2 seed, duly remained unbeaten to top his group.
Play in the individual events in Jakarta ends on Monday 2nd July.
2018 Indonesia Para Open: Results and Draws