Qatar’s Noora al-Abri in action during the World Tour Qatar Open Table Tennis Tournament in Doha yesterday.
By Joey Aguilar/Doha
Showing consistency and speed Xu Xin and Ma Long started proving China’s might after beating their respective opponents in straight sets in the ITTF 2013 World Tour Qatar Open here yesterday.
World No 1 Xu Xin defeated Kasper Sternberg of Denmark 11-8, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 using variation service and third ball attacks. Close at 8-8, Stenberg almost had the penholder’s weakness but failed to sustain his offence in the third set and suffered an 11-8 loss.
Xu Xin used his tricky reverse high toss short service to score two points from a 2-2 deadlock but Sternberg was too patient during rallies, maintaining a 6-6, 7-7, 8-8 close fight. The Chinese showed dominance in the fourth set giving more counter topspins against the European.
Like Xu Xin, Yan An showed no mercy against Wu Zhikang, leaving the Singaporean with easy 4-0 (11-8,11-9, 11-4, 13-11) win. Wu had the chance to get one set in the fourth, 11-11, but Yan’s topspins and counter topspins were too strong for the underdog.
Ma Long also won his match against another European Romain Lorentz of France 4-0. However, the French player could have broken the 4-0 winning streak in the fourth set 12-12 if he continued his offense on Ma Long’s backhand side.
Finally, the Olympic champion was the last to nail a 4-0 win after easily defeating Asuka Sakai of Japan 7-11, 4-11, 9-11, 2-11. A showcase of table tennis prowess, Zhang was unstoppable with both his forehand and backhand attacks.
London Olympic silver medalist Wang Hao failed to win in four straight sets against Lashin El-Sayed of Egypt 4-1. The Egyptian, winning the second set 11-9, may have lost the match but he gave Wang a close fight that wowed the crowd.
Wang Hao unleashed his usual powerful forehand topspins and counterattacks in the third set giving El-Sayed a hard to time to catch up, 11-2.
At present, there seems to be no solution and effective formula to break the walls of the four Chinese players who will now advance to the next round until they get seats in the quarter and semi-finals. The term ‘upset’ may not at all be part of their dictionary.
In the women’s singles, it was one step at a time for Hong Kong’s Ng Wing Nam who ‘gallantly’ fought a good fight after breaking Ayuka Tanioka’s defense wall.
The Japanese player gave the Chinese an arduous path before giving up 4-3 (11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9).
It was probably one of the longest matches in this year’s international event, both players taking every stroke with precise execution and returns.
After the match, Ng Wing Nam couldn’t believe that she did it. She remembers her coach saying ‘play slow, slow and be patient.’ Nam will face China’s Ding Ning in the next round.
For top lady Chinese players, it was an easy win for them like the men’s team. Ding Ning defeated Egypt’s Galila Nasser in straight sets 11-2, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3.
Her colleague, LI Xiaoxia also trounced Yui Sato of Singapore in straight sets. LI Xiaodan beat Yoo Eunchong of Korea 4-1, while ZHU Yuling, also of China, defeated Privalova Alexandra of Belarus 4-0.
Qatar’s Aia Mohamed, who qualified for the main draw, could have faced Shan Xiaona of Germany in the next round if she won her match against Wu Jiaduo, also from Germany.
Her colleague, Noora al-Abri also managed to be in the main draw but lost to a more experienced and veteran player of China’s Liu Shiwen.
In the men’s doubles reigning European champions Robert Gardos and Daniel Habesohn of Austria failed to make it on the next round after losing from Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan 11-13, 11-1, 11-9, 11-13, 11-9).