by Ian Marshall, Editor
Required to negotiate the qualification stage of proceedings, he beat Egypt’s Omar Assar, the top seed, in a full distance seven games encounter (13-11, 10-12, 5-11, 12-14, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7).
“I am very happy to win against the first seed Assar. My confidence is high. I hope to be champion here in Belgium but there are a lot of good players waiting.” Park Ganghyeon
Defeat for one prominent name, likewise there was defeat for another, Germany’s Benedikt Duda, the no.3 seed was beaten by Brazil’s Eric Jouti, the no.28 seed (7-11, 13-11, 12-14, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6).
“I can’t believe that I won. Duda is a very good player. I never thought I had a chance against him. I was down in games and kept fighting. Many big names are out; this could be a chance for me.” Vitor Ishiy
Disappointment for Germany but there was a degree of compensation, both Qiu Dang and Gerritt Engemann, players who had been required to compete in the two day qualification tournament, emerged successful. Qiu Dang beat Ecuador’s Alberto Miño (10-12, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5); Gerritt Engemann accounted for Belgium’s Florent Lambiet in a contest decided by the very minimal margin (11-5, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 5-11, 12-10)
Success for qualifiers against seeded payers, in addition in the second round of the Men’s Singles event, there were similar wins contrary to expectations for Hong Kong’s Su Zhi, Frenchman, Leo de Nodrest and Korea Republic’s An Jaehyun, as well as for Japan’s Yukiya Uda, the no.20 seed.
Su Zhi accounted for Paraguay’s Marcelo Aguirre, the no.14 seed (5-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6); Leo de Nodrest overcame the host nation’s Robin Devos, the no.26 seed (11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-3). Similarly, An Jaehyun beat Brazil’s Eric Jouti (12-10, 4-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6), whilst Yukiya Uda ended the hopes of a repeat for Iran’s Nima Alamian. The winner in 2015, the no.11 seed, he was beaten in four straight games (11-8, 11-4, 11-6, 11-8).
Five qualifiers through to the third round, two more added their names to the list; facing adversaries who had also been required to compete in the preliminary stage, Japan’s Takeru Kashiwa withstood a spirited recovery to beat England’s Andrew Baggaley in seven games (11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9); Chinese Taipei’s Li Hsin-Yang accounted for Frenchman Joe Seyfried (11-9, 11-4, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9).
Progress for qualifiers, for the others who had negotiated the preliminary stage, Pavel Platonov of Belarus was beaten by Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic, the no.7 seed (11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4), Chile’s Juan Lamadrid suffered against Denmark’s Anders Lind, the no.21 seed (11-5, 16-14, 11-4, 13-11); Japan’s Yuta Tanaka lost to England’s Sam Walker, the no.15 seed (11-6, 11-4, 11-9, 12-10).
“I am full of confidence in this tournament. Against Japanese players it’s always difficult, because they are really fast and aggressive. I could counter very well this time. Sometimes I do great things but I can also play very bad. I want to find the consistency. For the moment I am happy but I will have to fight if I want to get through.” Sam Walker
Success for Sam Walker, notably there was also second round success for Korea Republic’s Cho Seungmin, the no.5 seed, Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck, the no.8 seed and Mexico’s Marcos Madrid, the no.16 seed.
Cho Seungmin beat Puerto Rico’s Brian Afanador, the no.20 seed (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 2-11, 11-3), Cédric Nuytinck accounted for Thailand’s Supanut Wisutmaythangkoon, the no.29 seed (11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 5-11, 12-10); Marcos Madrid ended the hopes of Austria’s Andreas Levenko, the no.24 seed (11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5, 11-5).
The third round and quarter-finals of the Men’s Singles event will be played on Friday 26th October.
