Wong/Doo reach semis
Mixed Doubles: Quarter-finals
It seems like the mojo is back for the Hong Kong China duo of Wong Chun Ting with Doo Hoi Kem, as they defeated Romanian outfit Ovidiu Ionescu with Bernadette Szocs 3-1 (6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9) here in Budapest. The impressive Asian pairing are playing like they did across the World Tour last season – and are in the hunt for gold again.
And wrapping up the day was the default progression of the Indian pairing of Sharath Kamal Achanta with Manika Batra to the semi-finals, because of Mima Ito’s partner Jun Mizutani’s withdrawal due to injury.
Karlsson and Pitchford made to work
Men’s Singles: Round One
Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson and England’s Liam Pitchford were both pushed in their quest for places in the round of 16 by Slovenian and Russian opposition respectively.
Darko Jorgic tried hard and won the first game against Karlsson, but it was not enough as the Swede won 4-2 (13-15, 13-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-9). For Pitchford, Alexander Shibaev had levelled the match to 2-2 before the British athlete got control of the match to win 4-2 (11-2, 10-12, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5).
Uda and Cassin progress
Men’s Singles: Round One
Yukiya Uda saw off the challenge of upcoming USA athlete, Kanak Jha in a strong 4-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6) win for the Japanese. Jha’s efforts to make the match interesting were thwarted early on and it never looked like Uda was not in control.
Meanwhile, France’s Alexandre Cassin had to be at his best against the veteran Olympian from Belarus, Vladimir Samsonov, as Cassin managed to secure an impressive 4-1 (11-1, 12-10, 7-11, 11-4, 12-10) win.
Dyjas continues good form
Men’s Singles: Round One
Poland’s pride, Jakub Dyjas is continuing his good form of late, as he took on Denmark’s Jonathan Groth and saw off the veteran in five games (7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5).
However, there was bad news for Japanese fans as Jun Mizutani had to withdraw from all events at the Hungarian Open as he suffered an injury. This means Czech Republic’s Pavel Sirucek moves on to the next round by default.
Harimoto in the clear
Men’s Singles: Round One
Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto was in clinical mood as he made short work of Slovakian Wang Yang, winning 4-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9) in under 26 minutes.
And the day for Indian fans got even better as Sathiyan Gnanasekaran registered a straight games victory against Iranian Noshad Alamiyan, and moved on to the round of 16 of the event (11-6, 11-6, 11-9, 11-2).
Mittelham, Ishikawa win domestics
Women’s Singles: Round One
Nina Mittelham had to take on her compatriot Petrissa Solja as the two Germans fought out for a place in the round of 16 of the Hungarian Open. Mittelham ran out the eventual winner across six games, recording an impressive 4-2 (11-3, 11-8, 11-5, 3-11, 4-11, 11-4) win.
Over at table 4, it was another domestic – Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa beat her teammate Haruna Ojio in straight games (11-6, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7) showcasing a measure of control similar to her performances at the ITTF Challenge Plus Portugal Open last week.
Cheng coasts, Shibata stumbles
Women’s Singles: Round One
Cheng I-Ching had a straight forward session in the afternoon as she accounted for Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut in under 29 minutes (11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8).
However, at table 3 the scene was very different: Saki Shibata was engaged in a decider with Soo Wai Yam Minnie and it was the athlete from Hong Kong China who found a way past her opponent, winning 4-3 (11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4) after a 50 minute epic.
“We had a very good time outcall with my coach in the sixth game I was leading but suddenly we had only one gap between us. We looked at each other and we agreed we need to call a timeout right now. It calmed me down so I could reset and start all over again. I will improve for the next round and be stronger mentally then I think I have a chance to get to the later rounds.” Soo Wai Yam Minnie
Batra too much for Chen
Women’s Singles: Round One
Chen Szu-Yu looked to be a step too far on the Hungarian Open for qualifier Manika Batra, before she turned the tide against Chinese Taipei athlete in an exciting encounter between the two Asians. Chen having taken a 3-0 lead, it looked to be ominous for Batra, but the Indian stormed back into the match winning four games in a row, making a 4-3 (9-11, 4-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7, 14-12) comeback that had the crowd on their feet.
It was more of the same for Miu Hirano who had to deal with a ferocious Yu Fu from Portugal, as they battled till the very end of six-game thriller. Eventually, it was the Japanese who came out on top, winning 4-2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-3, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8).
Japanese duo stroll on
Women’s Singles: Round One
Miyu Kato and Mima Ito had a bit of stroll here in the sunlight of Budapest, as they won their respective matches against Hana Matelova and Nan Xia Lan in straight games.
Kato needed nearly half an hour and her barrage of forehand shots to account for Czech Republic’s Matelova (11-8, 11-9, 11-2, 12-10). For Ito, it was about 25 minutes across the four games and Luxembourg’s Lan was not able to handle her at all (12-10, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9).
Strong start but not to be for Czech duo
Men’s Doubles: Round of 16
Czech Republic’s Tomas Polansky and Pavel Sirucek gave it their best shot but ultimately fell short in round one of the men’s doubles draw, failing to capitalise on an early lead as second seeds Benedikt Duda and Patrick Franziska showed their quality (6-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9).
The pair seeded one place below Duda and Franziska in Budapest, Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan are also through following a similarly fought out match against Argentina’s Gaston Alto and Puerto Rico’s Daniel Gonzalez (5-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-4).
Indian pair contribute latest scalp
Men’s Doubles: Round of 16
Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sathiyan Ganansekaran have taken their rightful place in the spotlight after the unseeded Indian players became the latest pair to defeat seeded opposition, negotiating a difficult five-game contest against Japanese seventh seeds Shunsuke Togami and Yukiya Uda (11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9).
However, Achanta and Gnanasekaran’s fellow countrymen Harmeet Desai and Manav Vikash Thakkar tasted defeat over on table 2 as Hong Kong China’s Lam Siu Hang and Ng Pak Nam extended their stay (13-11, 11-8, 11-13, 6-11, 11-2).
Balazova and Matelova exit the stage
Women’s Doubles: Round of 16
The women’s doubles event has already lost the third seeded partnership in Budapest with German qualifiers Chantal Mantz and Wan Yuan staging a big upset against Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova and Czech Republic’s Hana Matelova (11-3, 5-11, 5-11, 15-13, 11-8).
“We had a very good start to the match, probably too easy and we paid the price for it as they came up with something new in the next two games and we could not find the answers until the time out in game four. This game turned out to be the most important game of the match, as winning that gave us more confidence. We felt that if it came to crunch time we would have a better chance to win as we handled the pressure really well today.” Chantal Mantz
Puerto Rican no.7 seeds Adriana and Melanie Diaz have also been eliminated, losing out to England’s Tin-Tin Ho and Austria’s Karoline Mischek in straight games (15-13, 11-8, 11-7).
Mixed association partnerships suffer defeat
Women’s Doubles: Round of 16
Egypt’s Dina Meshref and Greece’s Aikaterini Toliou have been defeated in the opening round of the women’s doubles event with the no.4 seeded Japanese pair of Miu Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa proving too strong (11-9, 11-5, 12-10).
“We played really well in this match and had a good start in the competition. We felt good and positive throughout the first two games as all the shots we went for worked really well. In the third game, they changed a little bit and the game was evenly matched, so we were really happy we won three straight games as losing that could have changed our rhythm.” Kasumi Ishikawa
The other mixed association combination involved in the 11.40am session of Brazil’s Caroline Kumahara and the United States’ Lily Zhang also exited the competition after falling short in their encounter with Thailand’s Orawan Paranang and Suthasini Sawettabut (14-12, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10).
Local favourites fall
Mixed Doubles: Round of 16
A brave performance but Hungary’s Adam Szudi and Szandra Pergel have fallen at the first hurdle of the mixed doubles race, losing out to India’s Sharath Kamal Achanta and Manika Batra in a tense five-game affair (11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7).
“In the first game we managed to win, they were struggling with our style of play but in the second I feel we played on a higher level but lost! Adam played very cleverly changing the pace and the direction on his shots and it took a bit of time for us to find the right response to it. From the fourth game onwards Manika started to play a bit more aggressive so I think that gave us the edge for the final game too. We are happy to win this one and hoping to reach at least one round further.” Sharath Kamal Achanta
Third seeds Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova are out of the running after the Slovak duo suffered a shock 3-1 defeat at the hands of Spain’s Alvaro Robles and Maria Xiao (7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5).
Top seeds sail through
Mixed Doubles: Round of 16
Seeded first for the mixed doubles event in Budapest, Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem are off to a winning start following a solid 3-1 victory for the Hong Kong China pair in their round one meeting with Puerto Rican qualifiers Brian Afanador and Adriana Diaz (11-2, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10).
We’ve also lost our first seeded entry of the competition with Serbians Aleksandar Karakasevic and Izabela Lupulesku ousting French no.6 seeds Tristan Flore and Laura Gasnier (12-10, 13-11, 12-10).
“We are trying for the Olympics so every match matters to have a chance to make it. The score will show it was a win with three straight games but all the games were decided by only a two point margin. I have to praise my partner Izabela, who played extremely well in this match on receive and during the rallies played lots of good shots at the key moments. Next round we will have to play a bit better to have a chance to win a medal here in Budapest.” Aleksandar Karakasevic
