Chinese Olympic and World champion Ma Long in action against Germany’s Timo Boll during their round of 16 match of the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum, Qatar Open at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena in Doha, yesterday.
Doha: Chinese Olympic and World champion Ma Long stunned German star Timo Boll with a 4-0 win (12-10, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8) to make it to the quarter-finals of the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum, Qatar Open yesterday.
Ma Long, the no.11 seed, beat Tristan Flore of France in Thursday’s first round match (6-11, 11-5, 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7) while Boll, the no.4 seed, ended the hopes of compatriot Benedek Duda (11-4, 11-8, 11-4, 14-12).
Today, at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena in Doha, 30-year-old Grand Slam winner who is also a three-time singles champion in Doha, will meet Japanese world number 10 Jun Mizutani who outplayed Czech Pavel Sirucek in a similar manner. Mizutani won 11-8, 11-10, 11-4, 11-5.
Meanwhile, Xu Xin, the top seed, also made it to the last-eight after a thrilling comeback against Japan’s Yuya Oshima (9-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-8, 13-11, 11-4).
The world number two, Xin, had made a successful start in Thursday’s first round with another comeback win, a relatively easy one against Lim Jonghoon of South Korea (9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7).
Xin will meet the German world No.16 Patrick Franziska, who beat Japan’s world no. 9 Koki Niwa in another thrilling clash (10-12, 13-11, 12-10, 7-11, 12-14, 11-4).
One of the most talented players in action in Doha, Chinese Taipei’s 17 year old Lin Yun-Ju shocked Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the no.13 seed, in six games (11-4, 6-11, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7).
China’s Lin Gaoyuan, the no.2 seed, accounted for Korea Republic’s Jang Woojin, the no.10 seed (11-4, 6-11, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7).
Action during the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum, Qatar Open.
Also yesterday, Sweden’s Mattias Falck, the no.12 seed, ended the progress of Belgian qualifier, Cédric Nuytinck (10-12, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4) to advance.
Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, the no.3 seed, justified his presence when he outplayed Liang Jingkun, the no.15 seed, in four straight games (12-10, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).
In the mixed doubles, Masataka Morizono and Mima Ito made a sensational fightback from two games behind (9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 16-14) to make it to the gold medal contest yesterday.
The Japanese pair was tested to their limits by Chinese Taipei’s Yun-Ju Lin and I-Ching Cheng.
Awaiting the Japanese duo in the final are China’s Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen who enjoyed a contrasting win during yesterday’s semi-final against Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Lee Ho Ching. Xin and Shiwen outplayed their opponents in three straights games (11-6, 11-1, 11-9).
In the women’s doubles, Japan suffered a double blow in the women’s doubles semi-finals yesterday when two Chinese pairs booked their places in the final.
Ning Ding and Yidi Wang prevailed over Hina Hayata and Mima Ito (11-9, 11-5, 11-5) while Yingsha Sun and Manyu Wang came fought back well against Honoka Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato (11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6) to secure a meeting with their compatriots in the final.
