by Ian Marshall, Editor

Fine performances but the star of the show was Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju.

Men’s Singles

…………Ma Long, the no.11 seed, beat Germany’s Timo Boll, the no.4 seed (12-10, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8) to book his quarter-final place

…………Lin Yun-Ju caused the biggest second round upset; required to qualify, he caused Germany more heartache. He accounted for Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the no.13 seed (11-4, 6-11, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7)

…………Patrick Franziska redressed the balance for Germany; he caused a second round upset. The no.14 seed, he beat Japan’s Koki Niwa, the no.8 seed (10-12, 13-11, 12-10, 7-11, 12-14, 11-4, 11-6)

…………Tomokazu Harimoto and Jun Mizutani kept Japanese hopes alive. In round two, Tomokazu Harimoto, the no.3 seed, overcame China’s Liang Jingkun, the no.15 seed (12-10, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8); Jun Mizutani, the no.9 seed, ended the progress of Czech Republic qualifier Pavel Sirucek (11-8, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5)

…………China’s Xu Xin and Liu Gaoyuan the respective top two seeds, both booked last eight places. In the second round Xu Xin accounted for Japanese qualifier Yuya Oshima (9-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-8, 13-11, 11-4); Lin Gaoyuan ousted Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin, the no.10 seed (11-4, 2-11, 11-7, 11-8, 13-11)

Women’s Singles

…………Ding Ning, the top seed, avenged her defeat last November in Stockholm; she beat Japan’s Mima Ito, the 5 seed (12-10, 12-10, 11-4, 11-8) to reserve her semi-final place

…………He Zhuojia caused the biggest second round upset, a qualifier, likewise she halted Japanese progress. She accounted for Japan’s Miu Hirano, the no.7 seed (11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5)

…………Gold medallist at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, Sun Yingsha beat Korea Republic’s Kim Hayeong (11-4, 11-5, 11-4, 11-5) to progress to the quarter-finals.

…………Liu Shiwen kept her hopes alive of a successful title defence; in the second round she ended the aspirations of colleague, Gu Yuting (11-8, 11-5, 11-5, 13-11)

…………Runner up one year ago, Wang Manyu, the no.4 seed, concluded the day and thus made sure that every step of the podium would be in the hands of China. She overcame Singapore’s Feng Tianwei, the no.8 seed (11-5, 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-7)

Men’s Doubles

…………Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting, the no.3 seeds, caused a semi-final upset; by the narrowest of margins they beat Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu, the top seeds (11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10). In the final they meet Germany’s Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska

Women’s Doubles

…………Ding Ning and Wang Yidi, required to qualify, overcame Japan’s Hina Hayata and Mima Ito, the top seeds (11-9, 11-5, 11-5) to reach the final; in the title decider they meet the no.2 seeds, colleagues, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu

Mixed Doubles

…………Japanese national champions, Masataka Morizono and Mima Ito, the no.4 seeds, booked their place in the gold medal contest, recovering from a two games to nil deficit against Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching to win the closest match of the day (9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 16-14). In the final they face China’s Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen, the no.5 seeds