by Ian Marshall, Editor

The biggest casualty was Hong Kong’s Minnie Soo Wain Yam, the top seed, she was beaten by Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, the no.11 seed (11-5, 14-12, 11-5, 11-7); similarly, Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki, the no.2 seed, suffered at the hands of Korea Republic’s Kim Hayeong, the no.26 seed (13-15, 13-15, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4).

“I’ve played really well today; I was good staying close to the table and playing fast, playing strongly from the backhand. Also, I returned service well; I was able to flip the ball. She made good use of the angles; she changed the direction of the play, moving the ball wide. If I played slowly she won, I tried to win the points quickly; in the rallies she was good.” Adriana Diaz

Impressive from Adriana Diaz and Kim Hayeong, it was the same from Zhu Chengzhu who, to some extent, balanced the books for Hong Kong; the no.21 seed, she overcame Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin, the no.4 seed (5-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-9), the player who just two days ago had reached the semi-final round of the Women’s Singles event at the 2018 ITTF Challenge Belgium Open.

Wins against the odds, Marie Migot of France and Spain’s Zhang Xuan were not to be left out; the same applied to Croatia’s Sun Jiayi, whilst Choi Hyojoo added to Korean Republic joy.

Marie Migot, the no.16 seed, beat Russia’s Valeria Shcherbatykh, the no.7 seed (15-13, 9-11, 11-8, 13-11); Choi Hyojoo, the no.17 seed, accounted for Belgium’s Lisa Lung, the no.8 seed (11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 15-13).

Meanwhile, in a similar vein, Sun Jiayi, the no.15 seed, overcame Japan’s Satsuki Odo, the no.3 seed, Zhang Xuan, the no.18 seed, ended the hopes of Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi, the no.14 seed (12-10, 4-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5).

At the quarter-final stage Adriana Diaz meets Marie Migot, Choi Hyojoo opposes Zhu Chengzhu; in the opposite half of the draw Sun Jiayi confronts Zhang Xuan, Lin Chia-Hsuan plays Kim Hayeong.

The matches are scheduled for 10.00 am on Tuesday 30th October.