(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)
Kanak Jha’s run ended in the Final 16 on Thursday with a 4-1 loss to World No. 2 Wang Chuqin. There are no easy matches at the ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup, and Jha reaching the Main Draw mirrored the American’s great results at the Olympics last Summer. Benedikt Duda continues to play well, defeating Dimitrij Ovtcharov 4-3 before losing 12-10 in the seventh game to Wang Chuqin. Harimoto had a 4-0 win over Feng Yi-Hsin but then fell 4-1 to Hugo Calderano. Calderano will now face Wang Chuqin in the Semifinals.
In the other half of the draw it was Lin Shidong narrowly topping Anton Kallberg 4-3, Truls Moregard over Simon Gauzy 4-2, Darko Jorgic over An Jaehyun 4-2, and Liang Jingkun finishing off Shunsuke Togami 4-2. Lin Shidong faced Truls Moregard in the next round and put in a commanding performance running off four straight wins to reach the Semifinals. The other Quarterfinal matchup was Darko Jorgic and Liang Jingkun. Jingkun dominated early with two easy wins and then he held on for the 4-2 win.
Three Chinese players made it to the Main Draw, all three remain alive. The fourth player, is Hugo Calderano. The Shidong versus Jingkun and Calderano versus Chuqin Semifinal matches will be played on Saturday.
Three Chinese players have also reached the Final Four of the Women’s World Cup with Sun Yingsha ready to face Chen Xingtong in the top half of the draw and Kuai Man having upset Wang Manyu to reach the Semifinal. The fourth player is Mima Ito, whose path included wins over Adriana Diaz and Satsuki Odo. Ito will now face Kuai in the second Semifinal on Saturday.
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