by Simon Daish
Contributing one of the biggest shocks was the host nation’s very own Jang Woojin; required to compete in the two-day qualification tournament Jang Woojin claimed a major scalp on day two, defeating No.3 seed Xu Xin (11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11, 11-7) to book a duel with fellow countryman Jeong Sangeun in the last eight.
Liang Jingkun enjoyed a strong day at the office, picking up two victories to his name on day two: No.13 seed Quadri Aruna was the first to fall to the Chinese qualifier (9-11, 11-5, 17-15, 11-6, 11-7) but it was Liang Jingkun’s Round of 16 win that caught the eye as seventh seed Tomokazu Harimoto was sent home packing (11-9, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8).
Brazil will be represented in the quarter-finals with eighth seed Hugo Calderano impressing against Chen Chien-An (12-10, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7) and Cho Seungmin (11-7, 13-11, 11-9, 11-6) while Dimitrij Ovtcharov’s international comeback was halted by Jun Mizutani in the Round of 16 (11-6, 2-11, 11-8, 11-3, 5-11, 11-4).
Two quarter-finals were played out in the Women’s Singles draw as Liu Shiwen and Kasumi Ishikawa successfully earned their places in the penultimate round of the competition.
Seeded two positions below her opponent, fifth seed Liu Shiwen accounted for Wang Manyu in a tight six games encounter (3-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9) with Kasumi Ishikawa requiring just four games to bring Mima Ito’s campaign to a close (11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11).
World Champion Ding Ning exited the proceedings on day two after losing out to top seed Chen Meng in the last 16 (11-7, 7-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9) and Suh Hyowon’s fantastic comeback effort against Saki Shibata (9-11, 5-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10) keeps the host nation in with a shout.
In the last four of the Men’s Doubles competition top seeds Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting required just three games to see off the United Korean line-up of Lee Sangsu and Pak Sin Hyok (11-9, 11-9, 11-8) while it was China’s Chen Meng and Ding Ning who made the headlines in the Women’s Doubles event: They overcome a two games deficit to negotiate Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun in a five games thriller (9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9).
An opportunity to see a United Korea partnership lift a trophy in Daejeon could still be on the cards after the pairing of Jang Woojin and Cha Hyo Sim recovered to beat fourth seeds Chen Chien-An and Cheng I-Ching across five games (6-11, 11-5, 14-16, 11-6, 11-4). Jang Woojin and Cha Hyo Sim will meet China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in the final.
