Lin and Zhu crowned Asian Cup champions

Ahmedabad, September 17: The ITTF-ATTU 30th Asian Cup finals at the TransStadia here today threw up two new champions today, both from China, as Lin Gaoyuan won the men singles title and Zhu Yuling took the women singles crown home. In addition, they also received $7,000 each in cash, the winner’s purse. But the biggest bonus for both was the instant World Cup berths.

Lin defeated compatriot Fan Zhendong, twice finalist, 4-2 but it was the women final between Zhu Yuling and Liu Shiwen, four-time winner, that brought the packed stadium down with the din created by the audience on a day India was playing Australia in the first one-dayer at Chennai. Zhu won 4-3, the match lasting 75 minutes.  

For the fans of India, especially the ones from Ahmedabad, it was a real feast served on a pltter with a variety of Chinese spread. In the men final, top-seed Fan was the favourite to win but the 20-year-old failed to raise his game against a more determined 22-year-old, who was making his maiden Asian Cup appearance.

Matching stroke for stroke, the left-handed Lin played percentage game and drove well with fewer negative give-aways as compared to his rival, a former junior world champion. Unlike the women singles final, this one saw fewer rallies as the two preferred to go for the kill at the first opportunity. Fan did try his best to level the game 2-2 but once Lin went 3-2 up, it was a mere formality for him to finish off in style.

Zhu reign supreme

The fast-paced women singles final with full of long rallies was one of the finest in recent time. The top-seeded Liu, with four Asian Cup title wins to her credit, was in some discomfort despite beginning well. But she slowly clawed her way back with precise backhands and equally effective forehands to make it three games apiece. The fourth game win at 12-10 looked like giving her the confidence but the next one went the way of Zhu.

In the decider, Zhu held five match points and playing close to the table, she tackled everything that was sent back to her. Of course, a couple of negatives from Liu too helped her inch closer to victory. In the end, it turned out be an anti-climax when the 22-year-old served for the Asian Cup title point as Liu’s return escaped the edge much to the elation of Zhu.  

For records, this was the sixth occasion when the second seed, who is world No. 3, had beaten the Liu, world No. 3, in their 13 meetings so far. Thus, she also snatched away Liu’s fifth shot at the crown.     

Tickets to World Cups

Left-handed Ishikawa didn’t throw in the towel after being down 0-2. Showed a lot of patience and believing in her experience, the 24-year-old played the match the hard way and conquered Miu Hirano, the only Japanese to become the Asian Champion. In fact, Ishikawa’s deep returns coupled with her proper exploitation of the angles added meat. Yet, the 17-year-old world No. 6 fought back well to make it 3-3. In the decider, Ishikawa ran away with a sizeable lead and held four match points. All that Hirano could do was to bring them down but couldn’t stop Ishikawa from winning 4-3 and booking her World Cup berth as the third player.

Like the women singles third position match, the men singles fight, too, was between lefthander Chen Chien-An of Taipie and right-hander Lee Sangsu of Korea and this time the right got it absolutely right, winning the bronze with a 4-2 verdict and getting World Cup ticket as a bonus.

Sangsu was aggressive and in a hurry to finish off while the Taipei southpaw was unable to hit the groove as his rhythm going haywire. Cashing in on, the Korean surged with a 2-0 lead before Chen arresting it momentarily when he won the third game 12-10. But Sangsu pounced on the opportunities very early and thwarted all possible threats emanating from the left-hander.

Results:

Women: Final: Zhu Yuling (CHN) bt Liu Shiwen (CHN) 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6; Third Position: Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN) bt Miu Hirano (JPN) 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3, 9-11, 11-8.

Men: Final: Lin Gaoyuan (CHN) bt Fan Zhendong (CHN) 11-7, 7-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5; Third Position: Lee Sangsu (KOR) bt Chen Chien-An (TPE) 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3, 12-10.

TTFI release

Asian Cup TT: Chinese men and women at it, yet again

Ahmedabad, September 16:  Fan Zhendong joined compatriot Lin Gaoyuan in the men singles final of the of the ITTF-ATTU 30th Asian Cup at the TransStadia here today. Lin first accounted for Taipei’s Chen Chien-An 4-0 and Fan steamrolled Korea’s Lee Sangsu, also by the same margin.

Just before that, top-seeded Liu Shiwen and No. 3 Zhu Yuling ensured that the women singles crown will remain with the Chinese when they entered the final, beating their Japanese rivals.

The men singles semi-finals failed to raise the din as it did in the women matches, especially the one between Liu Shiwen and Kasumi Ishikawa.

Fan and Lin are not the ones to waste time. Focused as they were, they didn’t relax the grip at any point of time during the semis. Fast and furious were their dictum and unable to cope with the pressure their Taipei and Korean opponents succumbed by their accuracy and measured strokes on either flanks.

On their way to the women final, Liu struggled against Kasumi Ishikawa of Japan before winning 15-13, 11-3, 9-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-6 and Zhu just packed off the other Japanese Miu Hirano packing in straight games to win 13-11, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10, to make an all-China affair.

Unlike Miu, who had to play three matches on the day, including the playoff challenge round first up, Kausmi had a lot of steam left in her to challenge the supremacy of Liu. In fact, it started off with the first game where Liu won on the third game point. The struggle continued from the third game but the seasoned Chinese put an end to the ordeal in the sixth to grab the final slot.

Just before that Zhu ensured that her entry was not prolonged, knowing well the capabilities of the 17-year-old Japanese. Though she won the first game on extended points, Zhu went 3-0 up very quickly. In the fourth, Miu looked like waging some battle but it was not good enough to keep her Chinese at bay.

In women singles quarterfinals, two matches stood out for tenacity and quality. In the first, No. 2 seed Miu Hirano, who had a play her first match in the challenge round, was visibly tired against Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu as the 11th seed played exceptionally well to lead 3-2. However, the 17-year-old Japanese turned it around by keeping her opponent engaged with long rallies and tiring out. That was when she went all out and making clever use of flanks beat the stuffing out of Chen to take the next two games.

But what surprised everyone was the way Korean Suh Hyowon stretched top-seed and title favourite Liu Shiwen. The Korean played with the patience of the Chinese and, to a large extent, succeeded in her mission. With her defensive skills coming to the fore, the Korean made things difficult for Liu. Making a lot of unforced errors, she hit the net going for the flat drives.

So much so, the players took every alternative game and despite her 3-2 lead Liu was unable to stop her opponent at that. However, in the decider she called the shots and emerged the deserving winner. 

Both Zhu Yuling and Kasumi Ishikawa quickly disposed of their quarterfinal opponents, Cheng I-Ching and Doo Hoi Ken, respectively, with an identical 4-0 wins.

The men singles quarterfinals, too, went the same way with Lin Gaoyuan and Fan Zhendogn quickly fixing Korean Sangeun Jeong and Japanese Jun Mizutani with 4-1 triumphs. But the other Korean, Lee Sangsu, had to fight till the end to oust Taipei’s Chaung Chih-Yuan.

In the gripping encounter, the fifth seeded Korean led comfortably at 3-1 but the determined sixth seed from Taipei took the battle from there to euqalise, often using his down-the-line backhands to surprise his opponent. However, it was the Korean’s day as he progressed winning the decider with minimal points.

Taipei’s Chen upped the ante in the fifth game to win it 13-11 and replicated it in the next to topple the fourth seed Japanese. Before that, Koki Niwa fought well to first level the score after Chen went 2-1 up.

Earlier in the day, Manika Batra could not sustain the pace and guile of Miu Hirano and went down 1-3 (7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 6-11) in 20 minutes flat to end the Indian challenge .

Coach Massimo Costantini seemed satisfied with the progress of Manika when he said: “We knew the result, but I must say I am impressed with the way she fought against Hirano.”

In the second match, Su Hyowon of Korea accounted for Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong 3-1 to enter the main draw.

Results:

Women:

Semi-finals: Zhu Yuling (CHN) bt Miu Hirano (JPN) 13-11, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10; Liu Shiwen (CHN) bt Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN) 15-13, 11-3, 9-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-6.

Quarter-finals: Zhu Yuling bt Cheng I-Ching (TPE) 11-5, 11-3, 11-2, 11-3; Miu Hirano bt Chen Szu-Yu (TPE) 11-13, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-3; Kasumi Ishikawa bt Doo Hoi Ken (HKG) 11-9, 12-10, 14-12, 14-12; Liu Shiwen bt Suh Hyowon (KOR) 11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3.

Playoff Challenge: Miu Hirano (JPN) bt Manika Batra (IND) 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6; Su Hyowon (KOR) bt Lee Ho Ching (HKG) 11-9, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9.

Men:

Semi-finals: Lin Gaoyuan (CHN) bt Chen Chien-An (TPE) 11-5, 12-10, 15-13, 11-7;  Fan Zhendong (CHN) bt Lee Sangsu (KOR) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7. 

Quarter-finals: Chen Chien-An bt Koki Niwa (JPN) 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 3-11, 13-11, 13-11; Lin Gaoyuan bt Sangeun Jeong (KOR) 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5; Fan Zhendong bt Jin Mizutani (JPN) 11-8, 11-13, 16-14, 11-5, 11-8; Lee Sangsu bt Chuang Chih-Yuan (TPE) 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9.

Playoff Challenge: Lee Sangsu bt Noshad Alamiyan (IRI) 11-4, 10-12, 11-13, 11-2, 12-10; Chen Chien-An bt Nima Alamian (IRI) 11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7.

Sharath WC hopes shattered, Manika lone Indian to enter challenge round

Ahmedabad, September 15: Manika Batra, with three consecutive wins in her group D, brought some smile back on the face of Indian fans but the hopes of A. Sharath Kamal of a World Cup berth lay shattered on a disappointing day for the Indians in the ITTF-ATTF 30th Asian Cup at the TransStadia here today.

Manika lives another day to take on Japanese Miu Hirano in the challenge round for a quarterfinal berth, but for the two male players the challenge ended here tonight. For Sharath, this must have been the worst Asia Cup outing, without a win in his group. However, did manage to take a game off Jun Mizutani in his last match of the evening.

Harmeet, on the other hand, can take heart from the fact that he did post one win out of three matches. In the first round, he beat Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Al-Abbad 3-0 and in the second he ran Iran’s Nima Alamian close in the 2-3 loss.

Of course, it will be a tough ask for Manika, a first-timer in Asian Cup, to beat the player of the calibre of Hirano, who is seeded second here. But she will derive satisfaction of playing the World No. 6, who is all of 17 only.

Manika shook off her early troubles to beat Qatari Aia Mohamed 13-11, 11-8, 11-7 and then Neda Shasavari 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 before beating Thailand’s Suthasini Sawettabut 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8 in a thriller. After she levelled score, the Indian took a three-point lead at 7-4 before allowing her rival a few liberties. Manika’s luck too held as he got four crucial points, three off the net cord and one from the edge of the table.

The slow start to their league match saw the players cautious in their approach with leading changing hands regularly. After deuce, Manika missed one game point but won it on the second. From there, she never looked back as the former national champion the next two games easily.

The rot set in when A. Sharath Kamal first went down to Korean Lee Sangsu 0-3 in men singles and then followed it up with the second round loss to Chinese Lin Gaoyuan in group C matches. Later in the evening Mizutani beat him 11-5, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8.

The Korean proved too hot for Sharath to handle as the ninth-seeded Indian had no answers to the fifth seed. He kept using the backhand drives forcefully down the line and clever forehands to the far left off Sharath. There was an occasion when Sharth led briefly in the second game when power interruption broke his rhythm and the Korean was back in business as he shut out the Indian rather easily.

But the story of the morning session was Taipei’s Chen Chen-An who upset top-seed Chinese Fan Zhendong in men singles in group A. The No. 9 seed, who had surprised then Olympic champion Zhang Jike a few years ago, outsmarted Fan. The Chinese had made a fine recovery and went up 8-5. But he let Chen-An claw his way back and level at 8-8. A service error saw the Taipei paddler go 9-8 up and from there the match was going only one way as Chen-An won 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-8.

Similarly, there was yet another upset when Chen Szu-Yu of Taipei shocked Feng Tianwei of Singapore 3-2 in a see-saw women singles battle. Feng, who is no stranger to India, was at Jaipur two years ago and had a top-of-the-podium finish beating Liu.

List of Qualifiers:

Men:

Group A: Koki Niwa (JPN), Fan Zhendong (CHN); Group B: Chuang Chih-Yuan (TPE), Jeong Sanguen (KOR); Group C: Jun Mizutani (JPN), Lin Gaoyuan (CHN).

Women:

Group A: Zhu Yuling (CHN), Doom Hoi Kem (HKG); Group B: Liu Shiwen (CHN), Cheng I-Ching (TPE); Group C: Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN), Chen Szu-Yu (TPE).

Playoff Challenge:

Men: Noshad Alamiyan (IRI) vs Lee Sangsu (KOR), Nima Alamian (IRI) vs Chen Chien-An (TPE).

Women: Miu Hirano (JPN) vs Manika Batra (IND); Lee Ho Ching (HKG) vs Su Hyowon (KOR).

Results:

Men:

Group A (1st Round): Chen Chien-An (Tpe) bt Fan Zhendong (Chn) 3-2, Koki Niwa (Jpn) bt Ho Kwan Kit (Hkg) 3-2. 2nd Round: Fan Zhendong bt Koki Niwa 3-1, Chen Chien-An bt Ko Kwan Kit 3-2. 3rd Round: Koki Nawa bt Chen Chien-An 3-0, Fan Zhendong bt Ho Kwan Kit 3-0.

Group B (1st Round): Jeong Sangeun (Kor) bt Wong Chun Ting (Hkg) 3-1, Chuang Chih-Yuan (Tpe) bt Noshad Alamiyan (Iran) 3-1, 2nd Round: Chuang Chih-Yuan bt Wong Chun Ting 3-0, Jeong Sangeun bt Noshad Alamiyan 3-2.  3rd Round: Chuang Chih-Yuan bt Sangeum Jeong 3-0, Noshal Alamiyan bt Wong Chun Ting 3-2.

Group C (1st Round): Jun Mizutani (Jpn) bt Lin Gaoyuan (Chn) 3-2, Lee Sangsu (Kor) bt A. Sharath Kamal (Ind) 3-0. 2nd Round: Jun Mizutani bt Lee Sangsu 3-0, Lin Gaoyuan bt A. Sharath Kamal 3-0. 3rd Round: Jun Mizutani bt Sharath Kamal 3-1, Lin Gaoyuan bt Lee Sangsu 3-0.

Group D (1st Round): Nima Alamian (Iran) bt Padasak Tanviriyavechakul (Tha) 3-2, Harmeet Desai (Ind) bt Abdulaziz Al-Abbad (Saudi) 3-0. 2nd Round: Nima Alamian bt Harmeet Desai 3-2, Padasak Tanviriyavechakul bt Abdulaziz Al-Abbad 3-2. 3rd Round: Padasak Tanviriyavechakul 3-2, Nima Alamian bt Abdulaziz Al-abbad 3-0.

Women:

Group A (1st Round): Zhu Ling (Chn) bt Do Hoi Kem (Hkg) 3-0, Miu Hirano (Jpn) bt Yu Mengyu (Sgp) 3-1. 2nd Round: Zhu Yuling bt Miu Hiano 3-0, Doo Hoi Kem bt Yu Mengyu 3-0. 3rd Round: Zhu Yuling bt Yu Mengyu 3-0, Doo HoiKem bt Miu Hirano 3-2.

Group B (1st Round): Liu Shiwen (Chn) bt Yang Haeum (Kor) 3-0, Cheng I-Ching (Tpe) bt Lee Ho Ching (Hkg) 3-1. 2nd Round: Liu Shiwen bt Cheng I-Ching 3-0, Lee Ho Ching bt Yang Yaeum 3-2. 3rd Round: Liu Shiwen bt Lee Ho Ching 3-1,Cheng I-Ching bt Yang Haeun 3-0.

Group C (1st Round): Kasumi Ishikawa (Jpn) Suh Hyowon (Kor) 3-2, Chen Szu-Yu (Tpe) bt Feng Tianwei (Sgp) 3-2. 2nd Round: Chen Szu-Yu bt Suh Hyowon 3-1, Kasumi Ishikawa bt Feng Tianwei 3-1. 3rd Round: Kasumi Ishikawa bt Chen Szu-Yu 3-0, Suh Hyowon bt Feng Tianwei 3-2.

Group D (1st Round): Manika Batra (Ind) bt Aia Mohamed (Qat) 3-0, Suthasini Sawettabut (Tha) Neda Shasavari 3-0. 2nd Round: Suthasini Sawettabut bt Aia Mohamed 3-0, Manika Batra bt Neda Shasavari 3-0. 3rd Round: Manika Batra bt Suthasini Sawettabut 3-2.