by Ian Marshall, Editor
It was a quite remarkable performance by the 21 year old, who has recently recovered from major hip surgery.
“Today my task was to prove myself; I must admit that I was somewhat nervous at the start of the day, I really was not sure what might happen. I feel I played well and of course I’m pleased to have won the two matches. Today, I was good with my service, receive of service and first attack; in this day and age you must be good in those areas. I tried as much as possible to make my first attacking stroke my forehand and then keep playing my forehand. My hip feels fine, I have no pain; the muscles are stronger from the operation. Overall I feel a little pain in my body but that’s quite normal, no problem.” Romain Ruiz
Success against the odds for Romain Ruiz; in the second round of the Under 21 Men’s Singles event he was not alone, the Korea Republic enjoying notable success.
An Jaehyjun, the no.21 seed, beat Hungary’s Bence Majoros, the no.2 seed (11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6), Hwang Minha, the no.28 seed, accounted for England’s Tom Jarvis, the no.12 seed (11-9, 11-8, 12-10). Similarly but as expected, Cho Seungmin, the top seed, ended the hopes of Hong Kong’s Kwan Man Ho, the no.16 seed (11-7, 11-7, 11-7).
Meanwhile, also upsetting the odds, Kanak Jha of the United States, the no.10 seed, overcame Denmark’s Anders Lind, the no.4 seed (11-8, 13-15, 11-4, 11-2), Su Zhi, like Kwan Man Ho from Hong Kong, prevailed in opposition to Poland’s Poland’s Tomasz Kotowski, the no.11 seed (11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 7-11, 13-11).
A total of five surprise wins; however for Japan’s Koyo Kanamitsu, the no.7 seed and for Yukiya Uda, the no.8 seed, like Cho Seungmin there was success according to expectations. Koyo Kanamitsu accounted for Chinese Taipei’s Lai Chi-Chen, the no.13 seed (14-12, 11-8, 11-5), Yukiya Uda ended the hopes of India’s Manav Vikash Thakkar, the no.15 seed (11-8, 11-6, 11-3).
At the quarter-final stage Cho Seungmin meets Hwang Minha, Romain Ruiz opposes Su Shi; in the opposite half of the draw, it is Kanak Jha versus Koyo Kanamitsu, Yukiya Uda in opposition to An Jaehyun.
The matches are scheduled for 10.00 am (local time) on Tuesday 30th November.