Tournaments

13 Mar 2020

Join us from 10:00 am local time in Muscat as the main event begins for the 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open on Friday 13th March.

Unseeded heroes fall short

Men’s Singles: Round of 32

Not amongst the top eight seeded pairs in Muscat, Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen and Lin Ye had outperformed expectations to reach the penultimate round of the mixed doubles draw. But, that was as far as they would go, losing out to Spanish fifth seeds Alvaro Robles and Maria Xiao by a narrow 3-2 score-line (6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9).

Maria Xiao and Alvaro Robles fight back to reach mixed doubles final! (Photo courtesy of 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open)

The other combination through to the final is France’s Tristan Flore and Laura Gasnier following a convincing 3-0 win for the second seeds against Aliaksandr Khanin and Daria Trigolos of Belarus (11-7, 12-10, 11-9).

Finnish star too strong for Indian prodigy and second seed departs!

Men’s Singles: Round of 32

Benedek Olah looked most impressive in the 7.00pm session of play as the Finnish representative claimed a commanding 4-0 win over up-and-coming Indian talent Manav Vikash Thakkar to seal his passage to the Round of 16 (11-7, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6).

There was also a huge shock over on table 6 as France’s Tristan Flore edged a tight seven-game battle against Jonathan Groth (11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7), eliminating the second seeded Dane in the process!

Omar Assar books his last 16 ticket

Men’s Singles: Round of 32

The African continent will be represented in the last 16 of the men’s singles event in Muscat with Egypt’s Omar Assar needing just five games to come out on top in his encounter against Belarus’ Pavel Platonov (11-4, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7).

Omar Assar leads Egypt and Africa to Round of 16 (Photo: Moez Fellah)

Meanwhile, over on table 5 Sharath Kamal Achanta has picked up the win in an all-Indian affair, seeing off qualifier Manush Utpalbhai Shah 4-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-9, 11-8).

Top seed sets the pace

Men’s Singles: Round of 32

Marcos Freitas doesn’t want to wait around! It took less than 18 minutes for the top seeded Portuguese star to come through his opening fixture in Muscat, powering past Mudit Dani 4-0 (11-4, 11-2, 11-5, 11-5).

Slovak defensive specialist Wang Yang also progresses after the no.5 seed dealt with experienced Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Karakasevic across five games (11-9, 12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10).

Japanese stars show their strength

Women’s Singles: Round of 32

Seeded third for the women’s singles competition, Japan’s Miyu Kato is a key contender in the title race in Muscat and has produced a statement 4-0 win in her opening round contest against India’s Moumita Dutta (11-6, 11-5, 11-2, 11-3).

Miyu Kato produces strong opening round display (Photo: Richard Kalocsai)

The other Japanese player involved in the 5.00pm session, Maki Shiomi also emerged victorious as she prevailed 4-1 in her meeting with Madhurika Patkar (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-1). Slovakian fifth seed Barbora Balazova came mightily close to an early exit, requiring all seven games to beat Reeth Tennison (11-5, 11-4, 8-11, 18-20, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4).

Laura Gasnier comes through seven-game thriller

Women’s Singles: Round of 32

French no.13 seed Laura Gasnier has overcome her first round challenge by the skin of her teeth, fighting until the very end to hold off a brave comeback attempt from Indian qualifier Sutirtha Mukherjee on table 1 (11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6).

Over on table 3 Russia’s Yana Noskova recovered from an early deficit to prevail in her meeting with Kaushani Nath by a 4-1 margin (3-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-3, 13-15, 11-4) while Luxembourg’s Sarah De Nutte proved too strong for Diya Parag Chitale on table 2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8).

Second and fourth seeds eliminated!

U21 Men’s Singles: Quarter-Finals

Pang Yew En Koen is out of the Under 21 men’s singles race after the second seed from Singapore suffered defeat to India’s Manush Utpalbhai Shah at the opening hurdle (11-7, 11-8, 11-4). Fourth seeded Jeremy Hazin has also bid his farewells with another Indian player in Snehit Suravajjula simply outclassing the Canadian (11-6, 11-2, 15-13).

Manush Utpalbhai Shah claims big scalp (Photo courtesy of 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open)

Elsewhere, top seed Manav Vikash Thakkar and Jeet Chandra achieved victory, beating the host nation’s Issa Al-Riyami (11-1, 11-8, 11-2) and Maadh Al-Shahi (11-3, 11-6, 11-4) respectively.

Trigolos cruises to semis

U21 Women’s Singles: Quarter-finals

Daria Trigolos is following in her Belarusian teammates’ steps as she added to her mixed doubles win with another semi-final appearance, defeating India’s Diya Parag Chitale in straight games (11-5, 11-9, 11-6).

I played quite well today in my first singles match but there were some moments where I need to improve myself. Very often I played safe from the table when in fact I should play more active and to fight aggressively.” Daria Trigolos

Tatiana Kukulkova in the mean time, had to prevent a recovery from Archana Girish Kamath, who had levelled up the scores at 2-2 despite being 0-2 down. Eventually, the Slovakian found a way past the Indian and managed to win 3-2 (11-3 12-10, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8).

Flore wins, Allegro follows

Men’s Singles: Round One

Tristan Flore was in prime form as he coasted against Pakistan’s Syed Obaid Shah, winning in straight games to make the next round (11-3, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4). The French player took no more than 17 minutes to win the match, where he accounted for 21 points on Shah’s service! Another Frenchman to emerge victorious in the session was Abdel-Kader Salifou, who needed just four games to see off Jeet Chandra (11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).

Today I won my match and I’m very happy because it was not so easy to play with a strong young player. I hope that it will be the same for the next round. The tournament is superb and I’m really happy to be here.” Abdel-Kader Salifou

Martin Allegro followed up with a 4-0 win over host nation qualifier Maadh Al-Shahi (11-9, 11-3, 11-6, 11-7). It was a strong showing from the Belgian, who needed to fight against the athlete and the crowd cheering their favorite on from the stands.

Tristian Flore ready for anything in Oman (Photo by: Ireneusz Kanabrodzki )
Good morning gets better for Khanin

Men’s Singles: Round One

Belarusian Aliaksandr Khanin is having a great day here at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, as he followed up his mixed doubles success with a win over Egypt’s Ahmed Zayed, losing just the one game (11-3, 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6).

I had never seen my opponent before the match. My tactics in this game were better than before. I’m very happy to be in this tournament and I really found it well organized and the hall is fantastic.” Aliaksandr Khanin

For qualifier Anirban Ghosh from India, it was not as good a morning as he exited at the hands of the Canadian Jeremy Hazin, who won 4-0 (11-8, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9).

Service variety proves crucial

Men’s Singles: Round One

Clarence Chew is through to the men’s singles Round of 32 following a 4-2 victory over India’s Snehit Suravajjula (11-3, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8) and the Singapore competitor labelled his service game as a key deciding factor in the match:

It was my first singles match so I think I did well. I had to keep changing my services and I tried to attack first, using all the opportunities to gain points.” Clarence Chew

Opening round exits for host hopefuls

Men’s Singles: Round One

Oman’s Issa Al-Riyami and Asad Alraisi were both eliminated in the first round of the men’s singles event, as they lost out to Florent Lambiet and Mudit Dani.

Belgian Lambiet won 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 11-3) and kept Al-Riyami on the back-foot the whole time. For India’s Dani, it was a similar straight games win, accounting for pace in Alraisi’s returns well and making his moves timely (11-6, 11-2, 11-5, 11-4).

Florent Lambiet moves on. (Photo by: Ireneusz Kanabrodzki)
Epic clash to start the day

Mixed Doubles: Quarter-finals

Lubomir Pistej and Barbora Balazova were engaged in an epic clash to start the day, as they lost out to the Singaporean pairing of Lin Ye with Pang Yew En Koen in a 3-2 win for the Asians (11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 7-11, 13-11). The Slovak pair were down 0-2, managing to equalise, but it was to be in vain.

Over on table 3, Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs could not stop the steaming run of Belarusians Daria Trigolos and Aliaksandr Khanin, who won 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8) to wrap up the semi-final slot in 30 minutes!

No luck for Bernadette Szocs and Ovidiu Ionescu (Photo: Ireneusz Kanabrodzki)
Ready for the main event?
Challenge Series 2020 Oman Open Oman Muscat
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Day 3 - 2020 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open