(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF)

Among the Continental Qualifiers that are going on, the ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships is far and away that strongest.  This 26th rendition of the ITTF event was held this week in Pyeongchang, Korea.  The top 8 seeds in Men’s Singles was 8 of the top 9 players in the world (basically, the same as the World Ranking list except that Hugo Calderano is missing – he’ll be playing in Havana next week in the Pan American Championships).

The top four seeds in this event were Fan, Chuqin, Ma Long, and Harimoto.  Had the event progressed by seed, Fan Zhendong would have faced off against Harimoto in the Semifinals, and Ma Long would have faced Wang Chuqin.  However, the event did not proceed as expected.  Second seed (and World No. 2), Wang Chuqin fell to Japan’s Yuta Tanaka in the second round 3-2.  Chuqin actually won the first and third games easily – and was tied 12-12 in the second (but didn’t close out), but Tanaka dominated the final two games for the upset win.  Harimoto met the same fate, falling unexpectedly in the second round – losing to Iran’s Afshin Noroozi 3-1.

For their part, Fan Zhendong and Ma Long each cruised through the event.  Ma Long was tested in the Quarterfinals by Lin Gaoyuan, but it was Ma Long that emerged with the 3-2 win.  The other matches for both players, were easily logged 3-0 or 3-1 wins.  In one Semifinal, Fan Zhendong topped Liang Jingkun 3-1.  In the other semifinal, it was 8th seeded Lin Yun-Ju who emerged to face Ma Long, but Ma Long easily won 3-0.  Ma Long won the first game of the Final.  Fan then won the next games easily – only to see momentum shift for Ma Long to dominate the final two games.  Ma Long wins 3-2.

Five of the final 8 players in Women’s Singles were Chinese.  Japan’s Mima Ito, Japan’s Hayata Hina, and Orawan Paranang of Thailand joined five Chinese players.  China won all four matches, leaving Sun Yingsha versus Chen Xingtong in one Semifinal and Wang Yidi versus Wang Manyu in the other.  Both Semifinal matches were tight 3-2 decisions, and the same result for the final – as Wang Manyu topped Yingsha for the title.

China’s teams were as dominant as one would expect – with the men winning 3-0 in each of their matches (including the Final over Taipei), and with the women also winning 3-0 in each round including their win over Korea in the Final.  Men’s Doubles was China v. China in the Final with Fan Zhendong and Ling Gaoyuan topping Ma Long and Wang Chuqin 3-2.  Women’s Doubles was also all China in the Finals with Chen Meng and Wang Manyu winning.  And to complete the 7 event sweep – Lin Gaoyuan teamed with Wang Yidi to win Mixed Doubles (another all-China Final).

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