Republic of Korea inflict pain on Poland

The Republic of Korea got off to a good start in the Women’s Team round of 16 when they beat Poland 3-0 to progress to the quarter-final where they will take on Germany. Choi Hyojoo and Shin Yubin was pushed to the distance by Natalia Partyka and Natalia Bajor in a five-game thriller but eked out a hard-fought 3-2 win to get the first point for the Republic of Korea. Jeon Jihee had an easier match as she was quick to take down Li Qian 3-0 in 25 minutes in the second singles match. Shin sealed victory for the Republic of Korea, but not before labouring to a 3-2 win against Partyka, who came back from 2-0 down to level the score to 2-2, before falling 5-11 to her.

Sweden takes down the United States of America

The United States of America was shown the early exit in the Men’s Team event after losing 3-1 to Sweden in the round of 16. Kristian Karlsson and Anton Kaellberg grabbed the early point for Sweden with a 3-0 win over Nikhil Kumar and Zhou Xin in the opening doubles match. American Kanak Jha levelled the score to 1-1- after beating Mattias Falck 3-1 in the next singles match before Kaellberg swung the advantage back to Sweden with a 3-0 win over Zhou. Karlsson then ended all hopes of a comeback by the Americans by beating Jha 3-0 in the fourth singles match.

“We are happy with our performance. It was our first match in the Team’s event and that has settled our nerves. They have very good players, and we went in with full focus and with a lot of respect for them. We did exceptionally well, we trust one another and we did a very good job today,” said Karlsson.

Japan makes light work of Australia to advance

Japan’s men’s trio of Koki Niwa, Jun Mizutani and Tomokazu Harimoto beat Australia 3-0 in a straightforward victory that sees them advance to the quarter-final. Seeded third, Japan proved too strong for their rivals, who are seeded 16^th. Australia’s Hu Heming and Yan Xin could not find an answer to combat Niwa and Mizutani’s speed and aggression in the opening match as they went 3-0 down in 16 minutes. Harimoto, who suffered a shock exit in the Men’s Singles round of 16, redeemed himself with an assured 3-0 victory over David Powell to extend Japan’s advantage to 2-0 after the second match. Mizutani then gave Japan the well-deserved win, closing out the third and final match 3-0.

Singapore through to quarter-final where China awaits

Singapore passed their opening test in the Women’s Team event with a 3-0 win over France to set up a quarter-final clash with China. Yu Mengyu and Lin Ye dispatched Stephanie Loeuillette and Yuan Jianan in the opening doubles match 3-0. However, what looked like a straightforward match between world number nine Feng Tianwei and Prithika Pavade, ranked 381 places below Feng, turned out to be a nail-biting one. The teenager, who is celebrating her 17^th birthday today, made a mockery of the rankings by racing to a 2-0 lead. Feng had to dig deep, and her experience showed when she eventually prevailed 3-2. Yu Mengyu, who reached the semi-final of the Women’s Singles clinched victory for Singapore when she beat Yuan 3-1 in the third match.

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