by Ian Marshall, Editor

A splendid win but in vain; in his opening match of the campaign, Yuta Tanaka was beaten by China’s Zhou Qihao, the young man who in 2010 won the Boys’ Singles title at the ITTF Cadet Challenge in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Zhou Qihao prevailed in six games (11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 7-11, 11-8).

“I started well and gained a three-nil head start. In the fourth and fifth games I let my guard down a little and was a somewhat flustered; that made me unable to react properly. I felt some pressure being my first match; I still need to get use to the environment.” Zhou Qihao

Zhou Qihao now meets Jeong Sangeun in the concluding contest in the group.

Defeat for Jeong Sangeun but not for the other leading players in qualification tournament duty. Japan’s Masaki Yoshida, the top name on duty, beat Hong Kong’s Su Zhi (11-6, 11-3, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7), Fang Bo, like Zhou Qihao from China, accounted for Korea Republic’s Cho Eonrae (6-11, 11-5, 12-10, 13-11, 11-4).

“I felt that I played quite well overall, my movement and aggressiveness on court was quite good. The difference playing abroad compared with at home is still rather big. I have some difficulties adjusting fast enough but it is part of the game, I just need to encourage myself while playing.” Fang Bo.

Success for Fang Bo; it was the same for the host nation’s Jang Woojin who beat Slovakia’s Thomas Keinath. Likewise, there was success for Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An, Japan’s Yuya Oshima and Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit. All beat adversaries from DPR Korea.

Chen Chien-An accounted for Kim Hyong Jin (10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 12-10), Yuya Oshima overcame Ro Kwang Jin (11-9, 11-6, 11-3, 11-7); Ho Kwan Kit prevailed against Kim Song Gun (11-8, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4).

“Today is the first day of competition and I haven’t hit top form yet. I felt some pressure going into the match. My opponent was a strong player but I adjusted as the game went on to win the match. I watched some of his practice matches over the past two days but haven’t really seen him play much, so I still had to make adjustments on court because I am not used to his style of play.” Chen Chien-An

A good start for Jang Woojin, it was the same for colleague, Cho Seungmin, the eighth name in the qualification Men’s Singles order of merit: he beat Lai Chi-Chien, like Chen Chien-An from Chinese Taipei (6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-1).

Play in the qualification tournament concludes on Wednesday 18th July.