Eyes focused very much on the East Asia Zone on the first day of action, Wednesday 12th April, at the 2016 ITTF-Asia Olympic Games Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong; understandable, it is the competition in which reigning Olympic champions and reigning World champions are to be found.
There were surprises and there were surprises elsewhere; especially in the South Asia Zone where only India was involved.
Unexpected Defeats
In the Men’s Singles event which involved one group of four players, Sharath Kamal Achanta, who has been the country’s leading player for some two decades, won just one match.
Clearly impeded by injury, suffering when making any movement, he experienced two defeats in a group organised competition that witnessed four players in action. He accounted for Harmeet Desai (11-6, 11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5) but was beaten by both Amalraj Anthony (7-11, 4-11, 11-9, 9-11, 18-16, 11-6, 11-7) and by Soumyajit Ghosh (11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7).
Success for Soumyajit Ghosh; he is the man in the South Asia Zone who has booked his place in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games; in addition to beating Sharath Kamal Achanta, he overcame Harmeet Desai (11-6, 11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5) and Amalraj Anthony (11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7).
Manika Batra
Meanwhile, in the counterpart Women’s Singles event, the player to join Soumyajit Ghosh in Rio de Janeiro is Manika Batra.
She was beaten in her opening contest by Pooja Sahasrabudhe (11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 5-11, 11-7) but then recovered to overcome Shamini Kumaresan (4-11, 11-9, 11-3, 15-13, 8-11, 11-9) and Mouma Das (11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6).
Two wins for Manika Batra, it was the same for Shamini Kumaresan. She accounted for Mouma Das (12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5) and Pooja Sahasrabudhe (11-9, 11-6, 11-2, 13-11); pertinently, the latter in her one further match in the group experienced defeat at the hands of Mouma Das (8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7).
In such instances, the contest between the two players who are level, decides the outcome; thus it was first place for Manika Batra with Shamini Kumaresan in second spot.
South East Asia Zone
Meanwhile in the South East Asia Zone, Singapore is present in numbers. Proceedings have reached the quarter-final stage, in the Men’s Singles event Singapore is involved in all four matches.
Gao Ning meets Thailand’s Supanut Wisutmaythangkoon, Chen Feng faces Padasak Tanviriyavechakul, also from Thailand; whilst in the opposite half of the draw Yang Zi opposes and Li Hu both confront adversaries from Indonesia.Yang Zi plays Ficky Supit Santoso, Li Hu opposes Angus Pramon.
Similarly, in the last eight of the South East Asia Zone Women’s Singles event, four players from Singapore are present. Zhou Yihan and Lin Ye meet in an all Singapore affair, in the same half of the draw Yu Mengyu confronts Thailand’s Orawan Paranang.
In the adjacent half of the draw it is Feng Tianwei versus Nanthana Komwong, also from Thailand; whilst in the one contest not featuring a Singapore player, it is Indonesia’s Lilis Indriani versus Nathana Komwong’s colleague, Suthasini Sawettabu.
West Asia Zone
The last eight known, in both the Middle Asia Zone and the West Asia Zone, the semi-finalists are known.
In the Men’s Singles event in the West Asia Zone Qatar’s Li Ping meets Jordan’s Zaid Abo Yaman; in the opposite half of the draw and all Saudi Arabian affair witnesses a contest between Ali Alkhadrawi and Abdulaziz Al-Abbad.
Qatar present, it is same in the counterpart Women’s Singles event; at the penultimate stage Aia Mohamed faces Lebanon’s Malak Khory, Mariana Sahakian, also from Lebanon, opposes Jordan’s Bara Al-Wedian.
Middle Asia Zone
Notable in the Middle Asia Zone is Iran. At the semi-final stage of the Men’s Singles event Nima Alamian meets colleague Afshin Noroozi, Noshad Alamiyan opposes Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko.
Likewise in the Women’s Singles event Iran is represented. Neda Sahasavari faces Uzbekistan’s Rimma Gufranova; in the adjacent half of the draw, the latter’s colleague Olga Kin confronts Kazakhstan’s Nataya Sladova.
Zone Qualifiers Decided
The five Zone events conclude on Thursday 14th April.
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