Japanese pair crowned Mixed Doubles champions
Doha: Shunsuke Togami and Hina Hayata are the first players to receive winner's trophies at WTT Star Contender Doha 2021 following a stunning display from the Japanese pair in the Mixed Doubles final.
Facing fierce opposition from the Republic of Korea’s Jang Woojin and Jeon Jihee in the title decider, Togami and Hayata negotiated the match with great togetherness. Jang and Jeon admirably kept fighting right down to the final point, but on this occasion, the day belonged to Togami and Hayata (11-6 3-11 11-2 11-8).
The “Thrill from Brazil,” Hugo Calderano is the final man to earn passage to the Men’s Singles semi-finals after prevailing in his head-to-head with French counterpart Simon Gauzy.
Fifth seed Gauzy couldn’t have asked for a better start to the match as he registered the first game in his favour. However, Calderano, seeded second, managed to hit back immediately with commanding outings in the following two games before bringing proceedings to a close with a narrow win in game four (8-11 11-4 11-3 12-10).
Liam Pitchford has just produced a masterclass performance on table one to secure his place in the Men’s Singles last four.
The Englishman displayed world-class table tennis right from the off against Hong Kong, China’s Wong Chun Ting, outpowering the penhold grip specialist by convincing margins in games one and two. Both players really attacked the third game, making for some excellent viewing. Saving two game points, fourth seed Pitchford fought back to end any hopes of a comeback for his sixth-seeded opponent, completing a decisive 3-0 victory (11-4, 11-7, 13-11).
Hong Kong, China’s Doo Hoi Kem is through to the Women’s Singles semi-final here in Doha.
The second seed encountered an early storm against Archana Girish Kamath, with the 21-year-old Indian qualifier racing into a one-game lead. Crucially, Doo held the slight edge in game two to establish a foothold in the match, and she didn’t look back from there (9-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-6).
Top seed Jeon Jihee from the Republic of Korea withstood an early onslaught by Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut before staging her own fightback to keep her title hopes in the Women’s Singles event alive. Sawettabut looked poised to create another tournament upset as she raced to a 2-0 lead by winning the first two games 11-7, 11-8. However, Jeon clawed her way back by taking the third game 11-8 before prevailing in the crucial fourth game 15-13. The Korean then completed her remarkable comeback by winning the decider 11-2.
Ukraine’s Margaryta Pesotska ended the hopes of Brazil’s Bruno Takahashi after prevailing in their enthralling five-game showdown to advance to the semi-final of the Women’s Singles event. Pesotska fired the opening salvo by taking the first two games 11-6, 11-7. However, it was not a straight-forward encounter as Takahashi battled back to level the score 2-2, winning the third and fourth game. The contest went down the wire in the decider before the Ukrainian finally emerged triumphant by winning the fifth game 11-7.
Republic of Korea’s Cho Seungmin and An Jaehyun proved too strong for Ng Pak Nam and Lam Siu Hang from Hong Kong, China as the Koreans beat them 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 11-9) to secure their place in the last four of the Men’s Doubles event. The Hong Kong, China pair managed to level the score 1-1 by taking the second game but were simply outclassed in the third and fourth game.
Third seeds Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong, China crashed out of the Women’s Doubles event after they lost in straight games 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-8) to their unseeded Japanese opponents Minami Ando and Miyu Nagasaki. With their win, the Japanese advance to the semi-final where they face the Singaporean duo of Zeng Jian and Lin Ye.
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