by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
Defeat for one Chinese partnership but for another it was success; Lin Gaoyuan and Chen Xingtong, the no.6 seeds, accounted for Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem, the no.2 seeds.
Furthermore, they won in a most commanding manner; a straight games verdict (11-2, 11-8, 11-3) was the order of the day.
Success contrary to seeding for Lin Gaoyuan and Chen Xingtong, it was the same for Korea’s Lim Jonghoon and Yang Haeun but somewhat different for Japan’s Masataka Morizono and Mima Ito.
Lim Jonghoon and Yang Haeun, the no.7 seeds beat Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An and Cheng I-Ching, the no.3 seeds and runners up at the Liebherr 2018 World Championships. Most impressively, the Korean Republic duo won in three straight games surrendering just 13 points in total (11-5, 11-5, 11-3).
Victory very much against the odds for Lim Jonghoon and Yang Haeun; for Masataka Morizono and Mima Ito, the top seeds, it was very much according to plan. They beat Germany’s Patrick Franziska and Petrissa Solja, the no.8 seeds, without the loss of a single game (11-8, 11-8, 11-3).
At the semi-final stage, Masataka Morizono and Mima Ito meet Lim Jonghoon and Yang Haeun; Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee face Lin Gaoyuan and Chen Xingtong. The matches are scheduled for 11.20 am on Friday 1st June.
Significantly, each pair comprises the left hand and right hand formation. Masataka Morizono, Lim Jonghoon and Lin Gaoyuan are all left handers, the one left handed female in Jeon Jihee. Mima Ito, Yang Haeun and Chen Xingtong are all right handed; Lee Sangsu is the one right handed male player in the four pairs.
