by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Success for Jung Younga was as expected, she was the top seed; in a group organised all-play-all event, she beat Japan’s Kimie Bessho in the title deciding contest (11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8); third place finished in the hands of Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao Shu-Chin.

However, the success gained by Kanami Furukawa was somewhat unexpected. Not listed amongst the leading names, she ended the hopes of Hong Kong. At the semi-final stage she beat Ng Mui Wui, the top seed (11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9), prior to overcoming Wong Pui Kei in the final (11-7, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8).

Otherwise, it was success after success for China with Zhang Miao and Wang Rui being the players to upset the ranked order.

In Class 4, after accounting for India’s Bhavina Patel (11-4, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7), Zhang Miao, the no.2 seed, overcame colleague Zhou Ying, the top seed, by the very narrowest of margins (11-8, 14-16, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10) to claim gold.

Similarly, in Class 6-7; places in the final booked the previous day, Wang Rui, the no.2 seed, accounted for Korea’s Kim Seongok, the top seed (12-10, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6) to arrest the title.

Mild surprises but not in the remaining categories, status prevailed.

Xue Juan emerged as the Class 1-3 champion beating Korea’s Yoon Jiyu, the no.3 seed in the semi-finals (11-2, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6), before in the title deciding contest accounting for colleague Yang Zhonghui (12-14, 11-5, 11-4, 11-6).

Likewise in Class 8, already through to the final, Mao Jingdian overcame compatriot Yu Hailian Churen (11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5) and thus repeated the success of one day earlier in group stage. On that occasion Mao Jingdian had won rather more comfortably (11-4, 11-9, 11-6).

Impressive from Mao Jingdian, it was the same from Xiong Guiyan in Class 9 and from Zhao Xiaojing in Class 10. Places in the final booked the previous day, Xiong Guiyan beat Korea’s Kim Kunhea (11-7, 11-6, 11-7) to claim the top prize; after accounting for Japan’s Nozomi Takeuchi (11-5, 11-8, 11-3), Zhao Xiaojing reserved the top step of the podium by overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Tian Shiau-Wen (11-8, 14-12, 10-12, 5-11, 11-8).

“It was tough; every match I played was not that easy. The players from other countries are very competitive. My opponent in the final has experience and proven ability; whether one performs well depends largely on mentality. I changed the way of serving and receiving service during the game to avoid exposing my weaknesses. I was really nervous before the match but it got better later. One needs to adjust his or her state of mind during a match.” Zhao Xiaojing

The individual events concluded; attention now turns to the team competitions; play concludes on Wednesday 30th August.

2017 Asian Para Championships: Future Matches and Results