Chinese Taipei suffers defeat but Lin Yun-Ju issues Buenos Aires warning note

by Ian Marshall, Editor

China, the top seeds, beat Chinese Taipei, the no.4 seeds, by three matches to one; the result to catch the eye was that achieved by Lin Yun-Ju. After Lin Gaoyuan had beaten Chuang Chih-Yuan (11-6, 11-8, 11-3) and Fan Zhendong had overcome Chen Chien-An (11-9, 11-8, 12-10) to give China a two-nil lead, Lin Yun-Ju reduced the deficit by accounting for Wang Chuqin (11-9, 14-12, 3-11, 11-4).

An outcome of significance; both will be on duty at the forthcoming Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games; add Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto to the equation and do you have the three Men’s Singles medallists? The intriguing question is in which order?

Disappointment for Wang Chuqin but he was not too downhearted; quite philosophical.

“This is my first time playing in the semi-finals at such a big event, I was too eager to win the match for my team. I think as a result I gave myself too much pressure and eventually lost. It was a fresh experience for me, a good learning experience. I think if I had played my normal level, I would have had the upper hand. It was a mental burden that I placed on myself because I was too eager to win, it resulted in too many unforced errors.” Wang Chuqin

Hope for Chinese Taipei but it was soon quelled; Fan Zhendong beat Chuang Chih-Yuan (11-4, 12-10, 11-4), to close the curtain.

Imposing from China, it was the same from Korea Republic, the third seeds, in opposition to India, the no.6 seeds; a three-nil win was posted.

Lee Sangsu gave Korea Republic the ideal start by beating Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-3), before Jeoung Youngsik accounted for Sharath Kamal Achanta (11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8) and Jang Woojin overcame Amalraj Anthony (11-5, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7) to end matters.

Certainly it was better news for Lee Sangsu who the previous day against DPR Korea had lost both his matches.

“We are really happy with the victory, especially because it was such a difficult match. India has fought very hard and has played very aggressively in this tournament, so it was a 50-50 match. We knew we had to play aggressively as well, in order to have a chance to win. I lost my matches yesterday, so I was very nervous before the semi-final but as the match progressed, I kept telling myself it’s fine, I can do it; that helped to calm me down. I was able to play normal towards the end of the match.” Lee Sangsu

The final will be played later in the day.