(by Steve Hopkins)
The ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup is underway in Haikou, the Capitol of China’s Hainan Island province. Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong were the top two seeds in the event with Tomokazu Harimoto and Xiang Peng among the many stars in action.
Wang Chuqin reached the Semifinals with relative ease logging a 3-0 win over Izaac Quek and a 4-2 win over Zhou Qihao. Taipei’s Chang Yu-An emerged to face Chuqin on Sunday in the Semifinals. Yu-An topped Uda Yukiya 4-3 in the Quarterfinals.
In the other half of the draw, Xiang Peng was upset in the first round – a 2-3 loss to Lam Siu Hang of Hong Kong. Tomokazu Harimoto won both of his early matches easily – a 3-0 win over Shinozuka and then a 4-0 win over Lam.
The biggest upset of the tournament was pulled off by Shunsuke Togami who defeated Lin Shidong 4-3. Togami actually trailed 1-3 before running off three straight to secure the win. Togami now advances to face Harimoto on Sunday.
Lots of quality table tennis on tap all week long – we’ll have more updates soon.
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