(by Steve Hopkins)

A few surprises in the early rounds of the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Doha as England’s Tom Jarvis pulled off a major update and Taipei’s Lin Yen-Chun advanced as Alexis Lebrun withdrew.   Top seeds Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin have each breezed through their first two rounds – both scoring 4-0 wins in both matches.  Hugo Calderano and Tomokazu Harimoto are each through as well.  Many of the other most recognizable names, such as Liang Jingkun, Felix Lebrun, Lin Yun-Ju, Darko Jorgic, Truls Moregard, and Patrick Franziska are all safely through to the Round of 32.

The big news in the Round of 64, was England’s Tom Jarvis with his best career win over Dang Qiu.  Jarvis had a great start, winning the first three games, but Qiu reeled him back in by winning three games of his own.  In the deciding seventh game, Jarvis pulled ahead early and was up 9-3, only to see Qiu win 5 of 6 points to make the game close.  But in the end, it was Jarvis 11-8 to secure the 4-3 win.

Lin Yen-Chun benefitted from the fitness of Alexis Lebrun.  The older Lebrun brother is nursing some injuries (including his wrist) and he issued a statement that he had not been cleared to play two matches in the same day.  He elected to play Men’s Doubles with brother Felix instead of continuing in Men’s Singles.  Taipei’s 21 year old Lin Yen-Chun now moves into the Round of 32 to play Korea’s An Jaehyun.  And the Lebrun brothers are set to face the Swedish pair of Anton Kallberg and Truls Moregard in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.

USA’s Kanak Jha lost 4-3 in his Round of 64 match – losing to 20 year old Eduard Ionescu of Romania.  Jha was up 3-0 in the match, and missed three match point opportunities in the fifth game, before Ionescu completed his comeback (and eventual win).

Lots of action on tap all week.  Tune in for more updates.

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