by Ian Marshall, Editor
Defeat for Fan Zhendong but China is guaranteed a place in the men’s singles final; in the lower half of the draw, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, Ma Long and Wang Chuqin all booked quarter-final places. Xu Xin is alone in the top half of the draw.
Men’s Singles: Round Two
…………Patrick Franziska, the no.15 seed, recovered from a two games to nil deficit against Fan Zhendong to record a six games win (8-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7).
…………Sweden’s Mattias Falck replicated his form of the Liebherr 2019 World Championships earlier this year. The no.8 seed, he beat Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin (6-11, 14-12, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, 5-11, 11-8).
…………Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, the no.7 seed, ended the progress of Portuguese qualifier, Marcos Freitas (11-9, 13-11, 11-9, 12-14, 9-11, 11-8).
…………Xu Xin asserted his authority; he accounted for Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju (12-10, 11-3, 11-8, 11-6).
…………Wang Chuqin emerged the only qualifier to reserve a quarter-final place; he overcame England’s Liam Pitchford, the no.14 seed (11-8, 11-9, 11-1, 11-8).
…………Liang Jingkun, the no.6 seed, used his power to good effect to end the hopes of Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (11-5, 11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 11-3).
…………Ma Long sounded warning bells; the no.5 seed, he beat Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the no.11 seed (11-7, 15-13, 11-7, 11-9).
…………A severe test but Lin Gaoyuan prevailed; the no.2 seed, eventually he overcame Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu, the no.10 seed (11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5).
Women’s Singles: Quarter-Finals
…………Kasumi Ishikawa, the no.6 seed, after ousting colleague, Hitomi Sato, the no.14 seed (11-6, 11-6, 12-10, 15-13) caused a major sensation; she beat China’s Chen Meng (6-11, 6-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5).
…………China’s Sun Yingsha beat fellow qualifiers Japan’s Shiho Matsudaira (11-2, 11-2, 11-6, 11-5) and colleague Sun Mingyang (11-5, 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6).
…………Ding Ning, the no.3 seed, progressed in some style. She accounted for Korea Republic’s Choi Hyojoo (11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 11-3) and colleague Zhang Qiang (12-10, 11-7, 11-13, 11-8, 13-11).
…………Testing times, following success in six games against Japanese colleague, Miu Hirano, the no.7 seed (5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9); Mima Ito reserved her penultimate round place by ousting Chinese qualifier, Li Jiayi (9-11, 11-9, 16-14, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5).
…………Notably in round two Zhang Qiang and Li Jiayi had ended the hopes of the Korea Republic. Zhang Qiang beat Suh Hyowon, the no.10 seed (11-5, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3); Li Jiayi defeated Jeon Jihee (7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5), the leading name in the qualification tournament.
Men’s Doubles: Semi-Finals
…………Not the best of days for Fan Zhendong; partnering Xu Xin, the no.7 seeds, experienced defeat at the hands Lin Gaoyuan and Ma Long, the no.5 seeds (11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5).
…………Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu, the top seeds, beat Indian qualifiers, Amalraj Anthony and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (14-12, 11-9, 11-8).
…………At the quarter-final stage Amalraj Anthony and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran had caused a major upset; they ousted Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin and Lim Jonghoon, the no.3 seeds (3-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-8).
Women’s Doubles: Semi-Finals
…………Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, the top seeds, beat Japan’s Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki (11-7, 11-5, 11-9) to reserve their place in the final.
…………Back together again, Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun, the no.2 seeds, progressed courtesy of success against colleagues Jeon Jihee and Lee Eunhye (11-9, 11-5, 11-8).
…………Australian hopes ended at the quarter-final stage, Jee Minhyung and Jian Fang Lay, the no.8 seeds, experienced defeat at the hands of Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki (11-5, 11-3, 11-7)
Mixed Doubles: Semi-Finals
…………Japan Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito repeated their success of the previous week in Busan; they beat Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching, the no.3 seeds (11-3, 11-8, 11-9) to secure their place in the final.
…………Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem, the no.2 seeds, advanced to the title decider courtesy of success against Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee, the no.4 seeds (11-9, 11-8, 11-7).
…………Australian hopes ended in the quarter-finals; Heming Hu and Melissa Tapper lost to Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito (11-5, 11-6, 11-0).
