by Ian Marshall, Editor
Notably for the host nation, Wong Chun Ting enjoyed a profitable day, competing in all three possible events, he remained unbeaten.
Men’s Singles: Round One
…………Defending champion, Japan’s Kazuhiro Yoshimura was beaten by Sweden’s Mattias Falck (11-9, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7).
…………Frenchman Simon Gauzy caused the day’s major upset; he beat Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu, the no.6 seed (11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8).
…………Wong Chun Ting won the closest match of the day and kept alive the hopes of Hong Kong; the no.13 seed, by the very narrowest of margins he accounted for Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar (11-9, 11-2, 6-11, 4-11, 8-11, 14-12, 16-14).
…………China’s Lin Gaoyuan, the top seed and Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, the no.2 seed, both emerged successful but each had to recover from a two games to nil deficit. Lin Gaoyuan beat Germany’s Ricardo Walther (8-11, 10-12, 11-2, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10), Tomokazu Harimoto overcame Sweden’s Jon Persson (7-11, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10, 14-12, 11-8).
…………Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna flew the flag for Africa; the no.15 seed, he accounted for China’s Zheng Peifeng (12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11, 10-12, 11-5).
Women’s Singles: Round One
…………Feng Yalan caused the biggest upset of the round, she beat Chinese national team colleague, Chen Xingtong, the no.10 seed and runner up one year ago (11-9, 13-11, 11-6, 16-4).
…………Doo Hoi Kem emerged the only player from Hong Kong to advance to round two; she accounted for Luxembourg’s Sarah de Nutte (12-10, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6).
…………Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa, the top seed, imposed her authority on proceedings; she beat Canada’s Zhang Mo (11-5, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10).
…………Mima Ito, also from Japan impressed; the no.2 seed, she accounted for Singapore’s Yu Mengyu (11-5, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7).
…………Hitomi Sato was a further Japanese player in form; the no.9 seed, she used her defensive skills to good effect to beat China’s Mu Zi, bronze medallist a the Qoros 2015 World Championships (13-15, 3-11, 12-10, 16-14, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7).
Men’s Doubles: Round One
…………India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sharath Kamal Achanta caused the biggest upset, they beat the combination of Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and Alvaro Robles, the no.4 seeds and runners up at the recent Liebherr 2019 World Championships (12-10, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7).
…………Top seeds, Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting made a successful start to their title defence; they beat Frenchmen Tristan Flore and Emmanuel Lebesson (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3).
Women’s Doubles: Round One
…………Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut and Orawan Paranang caused a major upset; they overcame the no.3 seeds, the partnership formed by Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova and the Czech Republic’s Hana Matelova (11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8).
…………Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching, the top seeds, made a successful start; they beat India’s Manika Batra and Archana Girish Kamath (11-6, 12-10, 11-7).
Mixed Doubles: Round One
…………China’s Ma Te and Wu Yang upset the order of merit; they overcame Slovakia’s Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova, the no.2 seeds (11-8, 11-8, 11-8).
…………Top seeds, Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem made the ideal start; they accounted for Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata (12-10, 11-5, 7-11, 11-2).
