(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTFWorld)
The first two matches at the WTT Champions Chongqing today were upsets, as early results set the stage for some great table tennis action at the highest levels this week. Japan’s Yukiya Uda upset Benedikt Duda 3-2 in the tournament’s first match and shortly thereafter, Korea’s An Jaehyun upset Darko Jorgic 3-0. The other five Tuesday matches were won by the higher ranked player, but not without some excitement. Alexis Lebrun trailed twice against Shunsuke Togami before winning the final two games to win 3-2 (with extremely close game scores of 12-14, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8). Patrick Franziska also trailed twice against Alvaro Robles, but also persevered with a 3-2 win. The three highest seeds that played today all had easier matches with Lin Shidong winning 3-1 over Kao Cheng-Jui, Lin Gaoyuan winning 3-0 over Cho Daeseong, and Tomokazu Harimoto winning 3-0 over Anders Lind.
The first round will be spread over three days. USA’s Kanak Jha will face Felix Lebrun tomorrow evening. Lin Yun-Ju, Anton Kallberg, Truls Moregard, Dang Qiu, and Wang Chuqin will also be in action on Wednesday. Thursday’s headliners include Ovtcharov, Calderano, and Jingkun.
The women’s side does not have any significant upsets to report yet. Kuai Man, Hina Hayata, Bruna Takahashi, Satsuki Odo, Kim Nayeong, and Sun Yingsha each moved forward. Kim Nayeong was the only upset, and it was No. 39 Kim over No. 33 Dina Meshref with two players of a similar level.
Lots of quality table tennis on tap all week long – we’ll have more updates soon.
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