by Ian Marshall, Editor
Anton Källberg and Truls Moregard beat fellow qualifiers Korea Republic’s An Jaehyun and Cho Seungmin (4-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9), Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson accounted for the top seeds, Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting (11-8, 11-8, 12-15, 11-9).
“Great match with a high level throughout. We managed to play well in the short game and that was an important factor for the victory. We are not surprised because we know that our level is high when we play well. Of course it feels special to meet another Swedish pair but we need to prepare the same way as before any other match. Anton and Truls have played very well so far which means we can’t relax. It’s extremely fun that all Swedish pairs will be in the semi-final.” Mattias Falck
A fine effort from both Swedish pairs; it was the same from Chinese Taipei’s Liao Cheng-Ting and Lin Yun-Ju; the no.4 seeds, they accounted for the combination of DPR Korea’s Ham Yu Song and Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin (11-6, 2-11, 11-7, 11-8).
Entertaining contests but none compared with the engagement that concluded the round; like Ham Yu Song and Jang Woojin, required to negotiate the qualification rounds, England’s Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford saved one match the deciding fifth game against Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Yuto Kizukuri, the no.8 seeds, before winning three in a row to secure victory (11-13, 16-14, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10).
Furthermore, it was finish to remember, virtually sitting on the floor Paul Drinkhall executed a forehand top spin that left not only Tomokazu Harimoto and Yuto Kizukuru stunned, the face of Liam Pitchford was one of disbelief.
“I did something similar earlier in the match and to save match point; increasingly we feel comfortable together, for sure winning at Commonwealth Games helped but we’ve had several good performances this year.” Paul Drinkhall
“Tomokazu Harimoto and Yuto Kizukuru, they are a very good pair but this year we have played much more together than before; they are both very fast, our task was the make sure we were consistent, keep the ball on the table.” Liam Pitchford
The semi-finals will be played later in the day staring 3.00 pm (Local time).
