Qualification heroes bid farewell
Mixed Doubles: Semi-Finals
The two unseeded combinations left in the mixed doubles event have finally been eliminated in Budapest.
Top seeds from Hong Kong China Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem needed just three games to prevail over Aleksandar Karakasevic and Izabela Lupulesku (12-10, 11-3, 15-13) while German seventh seeds Patrick Franziska and Petrissa Solja replicated the feat against Sharath Kamal Achanta and Manika Batra (11-6, 11-8, 11-6).
Hugo Calderano exits the race!!!
Men’s Singles: Round of 16
Seeded second for the men’s singles event, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano has been eliminated at the Round of 16 stage of the competition after losing out to Swedish no.11 seed Kristian Karlsson 4-3 (11-8, 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7).
England’s Liam Pitchford joins Karlsson in the quarter-finals, beating 2019 ITTF Challenge Portugal Open champion Qiu Dang (11-7, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7).
Dima snatches victory from jaws of defeat
Men’s Singles: Round of 16
Dimitrij Ovtcharov has just come through a daunting affair against Poland’s Jakub Dyjas in a match that went the full distance. Saving a match point opportunity in the deciding game, Dima showed great resolve to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat (5-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10).
“I am not at my best at the moment. I had to withdraw in Montreux while still recovering. It was a very important time out from my coach Rossi at 5-8 down in the last game. He gave me very good advice and made me believe I can still do this. I’ll do my best tomorrow and will fight as hard as I can to get further in this event.” Dimitrij Ovtcharov
The other German in action, Benedikt Duda also experienced success in a five-game meeting with Greek defender Pangiotis Gionis (11-8, 11-1, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7) while Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto saw off India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (11-8, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8).
Czech star through to last eight
Men’s Singles: Round of 16
A man in-form, Czech Republic’s Pavel Sirucek is through to the men’s singles quarter-finals in Budapest following a strong 4-0 display against up-and-coming Japanese teenager Shunsuke Togami (11-9, 11-9, 12-10, 12-10).
However, one Japanese teenager did enjoy success in the 4.20pm session as Yukiya Uda recovered from a 0-1 deficit to beat Takuya Jin 4-1 (4-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8). On table 1, Robert Gardos fought off a brave attempt from Alexandre Cassin in a thrilling seven-game encounter (10-12, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 10-12, 11-5).
“I played twice already in the French league this season. I beat him both times but in December it was a lot harder. I had the game pan ready against him. It was a hard match because he is in good shape beating Chuang and Vladi this week… It could have been a lot easier as many games were decided by only two points, but I can’t complain! I won today so there is another day to look forward to.” Robert Gardos
Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching power through
Women’s Doubles: Semi-Finals
Second seeds Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching needed just over 22 minutes to negotiate their semi-final fixture against fellow Hong Kong China competitors Soo Wai Yam Minnie and Zhu Chengzhu (12-10, 11-6, 11-7).
Over on table 1 Japanese no.4 seeds Miu Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa have also booked their place in the gold medal match with a 3-1 victory over Thailand’s Orawan Paranang and Suthasini Sawettabut (11-6, 12-14, 11-3, 11-9).
“I enjoy playing with Ishikawa as she is very reliable and gives me good guidance during every match. This gives me great confidence and I learn a lot from her too.” Miu Hirano
Top seeds eliminated!
Men’s Doubles: Semi-Finals
Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting are out of the running in the men’s doubles race after the top seeded pair from Hong Kong China experienced a five-game defeat in the semi-finals, falling to Indian qualifiers Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in an exciting contest (11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 4-11, 11-9).
“Generally both of us are quite emotional and expressive, it just pumps us up and gives us confidence. It is also the first time we have beaten Wong and Ho, so personally I am very happy.” Sharath Kamal Achanta
“Happy to be playing as a pair again and very happy to start off the year like this and hope we can win the first ever doubles title for India in the world tour!” Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
Awaiting Achanta and Gnanasekaran in the final is the second seeded partnership of Benedikt Duda and Patrick Franziska with the Germans battling past Poland’s Jakub Dyjas and Belgium’s Cedric Nuytinck (11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-3).
Ishikawa secures quarter-final spot
Women’s Singles : Round of 16
It’s been a very good day for the Japanese women, as Kasumi Ishikawa made it to the quarter-finals after seeing off Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz in a brilliant 4-1 win (11-5, 11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 12-10).
“She put me under lots of pressure with her backhand when she was switching side to side, it was difficult to control. I had to play well all the way through as the game could change any time if I did not play my tactics. I am playing well so far and I’m looking forward to the next round.” Kasumi Ishikawa
Over at table 3, there was a Hong Kong China domestic battle fought between Doo Hoi Kem and Soo Wai Yam Minnie, as the two doubles partners kept each other engaged in a seven-game thriller for the better part of an hour and six minutes. Doo edged her compatriot by a shade and won 4-3 (11-3, 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-14, 11-9)
No fairytale ending for Batra
Women’s Singles : Round of 16
After her heroics of yesterday against Chinese Taiepei’s Chen Szu-Yu, Manika Batra could not manage to pull out another rabbit out of the hat against Japan’s Miu Hirano, who ran out 4-0 winner (11-9, 11-1, 11-7, 11-7) against the Indian athlete in under 26 minutes.
“I come to the table prepared and ready as she is can be tricky at times due to the rubber she is using on her backhand side. She was not as quick as thought therefore I had time to choose the best possible shot each time. Today I feel much better than yesterday. I believe my game has improved as I got used to the conditions by now.” Miu Hirano
Meanwhile, Cheng I-Ching was able to find her form versus Germany’s Shan Xiaona, winning in straight games (11-3, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5) and laying down a marker for the anyone she comes up against next.
Ito coasts, Kato and Sato playout thriller
Women’s Singles : Round of 16
In a session that was dominated by Japanese women, Mima Ito was the first to claim a spot in the quarters, as she coasted against Ukrainian Margaryta Pesotska in straight games and under half an hour (11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5).
“I’ve played much better than yesterday but in this match, I played each individual point as a new challenge. I knew serve and receive will be important because Margaryta is really good in the open play so I had to have a good third ball to start to points with an advantage. I did not really feel the difference between the first point of the match and the last point as I was determined to improve my game in general.” Mima Ito
The other match in question was the complete opposite as Miyu Kato and Hitomi Sato went to the decider with the match lasting over an hour and sixteen minutes. Eventually, Sato managed to one-up her compatriot and win the epic match 4-3 (12-10, 3-11, 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8).
Duda/Franziska reach semis
Men’s Doubles: Quarter-finals
Germany’s Patrick Franziska with Benedikt Duda have reached the semi-finals of the ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open, as they defeated Brazilians Vitor Ishiy and Eric Jouti in impressive straight games win (11-6, 11-6, 11-5).
The news of the session, however, was the progression of India’s Sharath Kamal Achanta with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran into the final four, as they steamed on against the home favorites Nandor Ecseki with Adam Szudi in a brilliant 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-8) win.
“This particular match we were very strong on serve receive and on the third ball they could not really find the answer during the match. As well as Adam and Nandi we know each other well we’ve been playing together donkey’s years and now there are no Chinese pairs here so we would like to give a go.” Sharath Kamal Achanta
Lee/Doo pick up where they left off
Women’s Doubles: Quarter-finals
Day two of the main event here in Budapest has kicked off with some great news for the Hong Kong China fans. Picking up from where they left off yesterday, Doo Hoi Kem with Lee Ho Ching were quick to settle their nerves against the mixed duo of England’s Ho Tin-Tin with Austria’s Karoline Mischek, winning 3-1 (4-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-5) in under 20 minutes.
For the Japanese pairing of Miu Hirano with Kasumi Ishikawa, the challenge of Portugal’s Shao Jieni with Yu Fu came as a reality check, as they lost the first game. However, Hirano and Ishikawa found their feet and eventually ran out 3-1 winners.
