(by Steve Hopkins)
After winning a preliminary round yesterday morning (a 4-0 win over Vladislav Ursu of Moldova), Jha had a difficult test today, matched up against World No. 23 Cho Daesseong of South Korea in the Round of 64. Daesseong, a quick attacking player, has been on a consistent upward trajectory in the rankings over the last year moving from about No. 115 all the way up to No. 23. His best win was an upset of Fan Zhendong a year ago at the WTT Star Contender in Goa.
In today’s match, Cho won the first game 11-8, taking the early lead. Jha then evened the score with an 11-8 win over his own. Cho looked to be a little taller than Jha, but a similar, athletic build. Cho, a lefty, played with big swings on both sides but his shots came out a little rounder than Jha – with both backhand and forehand hitting aggressive shots with heavy top. Jha played today with greater variation, and sometimes opted for flatter shots – especially on his backhand side. Jha’s serves were a real weapon today as well, sometimes winning points directly – keeping Cho uncomfortable as he tried to move further and further across the table to play backhand flip returns.
With the score tied 1-1, Jha launched a near perfect pair of games, an 11-2 / 11-2 tear, giving him a massive lead. The two players then closed out the match as it had started, trading close games – giving Jha a 4-2 win and a sending him into the Round of 32.
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Amy Wang played her first match of the Games yesterday afternoon. Her Round of 64 win was a 4-0 win over Priscilla Tommy of Vanuatu. Wang was in control from the start, winning 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, and 11-5. USA’s Lily Zhang will have her first match today at 2p as she plays Mariana Sahakian.
Some of the other regional players in action today: Eugene Wang (Canada) fell to Shunsuke Togami 0-4, and Puerto Rico’s Daniel Gonzalez lost 1-4 to Korea’s Jang Woojin. Mo Zhang, Brian Afanador, and Edward Ly all play later today.
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ButterflyOnline.com will continue to provide updates of TeamUSA throughout the Games.
