by Ian Marshall, Editor
Continued success for Quadri Aruna having five days earlier won on home soil in Lagos at the 2019 ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open; for Yu Mengyu very different, she turned the clock back a decade.
Men’s Singles
…………Quadri Aruna, the no.10 seed, beat Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting, the no.7 seed (11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 3-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5).
…………England’s Liam Pitchford was the biggest name to fall; the no.6 seed, he was beaten by Chinese Taipei’s evergreen Chuang Chih-Yuan, the no.15 seed (5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5).
…………Playing fellow qualifiers, China’s Zhao Zihao and Japan’s Takuya Jin emerged successful. Zhao Zihao beat Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic (11-6, 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 13-15, 11-8); Takuya Jin ended the hopes of colleague Yuta Tanaka (12-10, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 14-12, 9-11, 11-6).
…………Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the top two seeds, both recorded second round wins at the expense of qualifiers. Tomokazu Harimoto beat Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An (11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 11-2, 11-6); Dimitrij Ovtcharov overcame colleague Ruwen Filus (11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7).
…………At the quarter-final stage Tomokazu Harimoto meets Takuya Jin, Chuang Chih-Yuan confronts Portugal’s Marcos Freitas. On the lower half of the draw it is Japan’s Jun Mizutani versus Quadri Aruna, Dimitrij Ovtharov in opposition to Zhao Zihao.
Women’s Singles
…………Winner ten years ago in 2009 in India, Singapore’s Yu Mengyu beat Japan’s Miyu Kato, the no.12 seed (11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7).
…………Japan’s Miu Hirano, the no.3 seed, was the major casualty, she was beaten by China’s Chen Xingtong, the no.11 seed (11-9, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9).
…………China’s Wu Yang upset the order of merit to win the battle of the defenders; required to qualify, she accounted for Korea Republic’s Suh Hyowon, the no.4 seed (11-9, 11-3, 11-2, 3-11, 11-5).
…………The top seeds, Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa and Mima Ito were in no mood for charity. Kasumi Ishikawa beat Romania’s Bernadette Szocs, the no.9 seed (13-11, 11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7); Mima Ito ousted China’s Fan Siqi (11-6, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5).
…………In the quarter-finals, Kasumi Ishikawa plays China’s He Zhuojia, Wu Yang faces Japan’s Hitomi Sato. In the opposite half of the draw Chen Xingtong confronts Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee; Yu Mengyu opposes Mima Ito.
Men’s Doubles
…………Qualifiers Japan’s Yukiya Uda and Kazuhiro Yoshimura maintained their outstanding form; they beat Iran’s Nima Alamian and Noshad Alamiyan (11-6, 11-4, 11-6) to book their place in the final.
…………Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu, the no.2 seeds, justified their status; they recorded a semi-final win in opposition to China’s Xia Yizheng and Zheng Peifeng (7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8).
Women’s Doubles
…………After overcoming Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun, the top seeds (7-11, 11-7, 11-13, 16-14, 11-8); qualifiers, China’s Gu Yuting and Mu Zi reserved their place in the final by ending the hopes of the European combination formed by Austria’s Sofia Polcanova and Romania’s Bernadette Szocs, the no.7 seeds (8-11, 12-10, 13-11, 11-5).
…………Japan’s Miu Hirano and Saki Shibata, the no.5 seeds, recorded a semi-final win in opposition to China’s Chen Xingtong and Li Jiayi (11-3, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8), after one round earlier having ousted colleagues, Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki, the no.2 seeds (11-3, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8).
Mixed Doubles
…………Solid in defence, qualifiers, China’s Ma Te and Wu Yang beat Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs, the no.6 seeds (11-4, 11-3, 7-11, 11-5) to reach the final.
…………After overcoming Austria’s Stefan Fegerl and Sofia Polcanova, the no.2 seeds (11-6, 10-12, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3), Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito, the no.7 seeds, beat Japanese national team colleagues, Tomokazu Harimoto and Kazumi Ishikawa, the no.3 seeds (11-2, 11-3, 11-6) to reserve their plsace in the title decider.
