by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

In Class 3, the host nation’s Yoon Jiyu experienced defeat, as in Class 6-8 did Germany’s Juliane Wolf.

Success against colleague Cho Kyounghee in her opening contest (11-3, 11-3, 11-5), on her second visit to the table, for Yoon Jiyu it was defeat at the hands of Thailand’s Pattaravadee Wararitdamrongkul (8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8).

Four players in the group, one match remains with Pattaravadee Wararitdamrongkul being the only unbeaten player. In her opening contest she overcame Australia’s Amanda Tscharke (12-10, 11-2, 11-8).

Defeat for Yoon Jiyu but the door to the semi-finals is still open; in all Para events, players finishing in first and second positions in each group advance to the main draw. Notably, in the corresponding group, Lee Migyu, also from Korea, completed her group phase matches unbeaten. She accounted for Australia’s Rosalie Turnbull (11-2, 11-6, 11-2) and Japan’s Yukimi Chada (11-4, 11-6, 11-7).

Second place an option for Yoon Jiyu, for Juliane Wolf in Class 6-8, it is confirmed; thus medal hopes remain alive. After losing narrowly to Japan’s Megumi Hirokane (3-11, 15-13, 6-11, 14-12, 11-8), she recovered to beat Korea’s Koh Dukja (11-4, 11-8, 11-0). Megumi Hirokane duly accounted for Koh Dukja in the concluding contest in the group (11-7, 5-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-7) to secure top the top place.

Meanwhile, in the remaining Women’s Singles events, the top seeds ended the opening day unscathed. Korea’s Seo Suyeon (Class 1-2), Korea’s Kang Oejeong (Class 4-5) and Kim Kunhea (Class 9) enjoyed a successful day, as did Australia’s Melissa Tapper (Class 10) and Russia’s Elena Prokofeeva (Class 11).

Likewise in the Men’s Singles events, where host nation players topped the order of merit, it was a day without drama for Park Jin Cheol (Class 1-2), Kim Youngun (Class 4) and Kim Kwangjin (Class 8).

Success for top seeded Korean men; it was the same for their German counterparts. Thomas Schmidberger (Class 3), Valentin Baus (Class 5) and Jochen Wollmert (Class 7) all justified their top seeded positions, as did Thailand’s Rungroj Thainiyom (Class 6), Tonnie Heijnen of the Netherlands (Class 9-10) and Australia’s Samuel von Einem (Class 11).

Play in the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles events conclude on Saturday 22nd July.

2017 Korea Para Open: Latest Results and draws