Three-time European doubles champion Tamara Boros of Croatia was a casualty in the first round of the women’s singles at the world table tennis championships yesterday.
The 31-year-old from Zagreb, a semi-finalist in the 2003 championships, lost to Anastasia Voronova of Russia 11-9, 11-5, 11-1, 13-15, 14-16, 11-7.
Boros was ranked 35th against the Russian’s 172nd.
PHOTO: AFP
Top-ranked Chinese players Wang Hao and Zhang Yining, waltzed into the second round with comfortable victories.
Wang, two-time Olympic silver medalist, eased aside Zeng Cem of Turkey 11-5, 11-5, 11-5, 11-5, while Beijing Olympic champion Zhang Yining whipped Andrea Bakula of Croatia 11-2, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4.
The Chinese paddlers, who monopolized all the titles in the previous two championships as well as the Beijing Olympics, strongly manoeuvred from all the quarters.
Beijing Olympic gold medalist Ma Lin needed six games to beat Alfredo Carneros of Spain 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-2 and join Wang Hao into the men’s singles second round.
Last year’s Pro Tour Grand Finals winner Ma Long outgunned Zolt Pete of Serbia 11-7, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5, while three-time former world champion Wang Liqin trounced Artur Daniel of Poland 11-4, 12-10, 11-3, 11-2.
South Korea’s Ryu Seung-min, Oh Sang-eun and 2003 world silver medallist Joo Se-hyuk joined the Chinese as well as world No. 6 Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.
Taiwan’s No. 9 seed Chuang Chih-yuan beat Bora Vang of Turkey but lost in the second round to Panagiotis Gionis of Greece.
Compatriot Chiang Hung-chieh defeated Jens Lundqvist of Sweden 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4. Taiwanese player Chiang Peng-lung beat Marc Duran of Spain 11-3, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 before losing to South Korea’s Seo Hyun-deok in the second round.
Taiwan’s Wu Chin-chi defeated Cazuo Matsumoto of Brazil 1-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-6, 11-9 before losing to Erik Illas of Slovakia.
No. 25 seed Ko Lai-chak of Hong Kong downed Taiwan’s Chen Chien-an 11-4, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 in the first round while Michael Maze of Denmark beat Chiang Hung-chieh of Taiwan 13-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 in their second round match.
In the women’s singles, Taiwan’s Huang Yi-hua beat Polina Mikhaylova of Russia in round one and then No. 30 seed Elizabeta Samara of Romania to reach the third round
Taiwan’s Lu Yun-feng beat Ng Sock Khim of Malaysia before falling to No. 10 seed Liu Shiwen of China in the second round.
Petra Lovas of Hungary beat Liu Hsing-yin of Taiwan 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 13-15, 11-7, 11-4 and Zhang Rui of Hong Kong beat Cheng I-ching of Taiwan 10-12, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5, 17-15 in their first round matches.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
RSS