Tags:
Journalism of Courage
PUNE, Nov 14: Indian paddlers made waves when two of their players qualified for the knock-out stage of 14th Asian Cup Table Tennis Championship, at the Balewadi Sports Complex, here, today.
Arup Basak set the tone on the otherwise dull day for the hosts when he cruised past Iranian Behnam Rahmatpanah 21-12, 21-10 and later won a cliff-hanger against formidable Choi Hyun Jin from Korea 21-17, 17-21, 21-10 which assured him a place in the last eight.
Top seed Chetan Baboor, with a world ranking of 126, had a relatively easy opening round against Hosoi Kohei Japan to post a 21-16, 21-11 win.
Earlier, NR Indu and National junior champion Abhijit Saha lost both their opening ties. World No 37 Kim Boon Sik Korea took just 13 minutes to subdue Indu 21-11, 21-14 in the womens Group B.Likwise, on the adjacent table, National Junior Champion Abhijit Saha went down to a superior Liu T Teh Chinese Taipei 21-18, 21-11 after giving his opponent a run for his money in the first game.
Baboor began his Group C campaign rather sedately against Hosoi Kobei Japan conceeding five quick points the gap continuing till the halfway mark of the encounter. Aided by some fine placements and smashes, Baboor suddenly brought life into his game, winning five points in a row to inch ahead at 16-14. This juncture proved to be the turning point of the game as the Indian kept up the good work to win the game 21-16 in an encounter lasting just under eight minutes.
The second game saw Baboor sustain his fine form to reap dividends as he wrapped up the game, and with it the match, at 21-11 in just five minutes.Top-seeded Wang Chen China, ranked No 5 in the world, demolished Takahashi Miyoko Japan 21-9, 21-12.
In the only upset of the day, fourth seed Jun Hye Kynng Korea, ranked 66 in the world, was toppled by young Chinese girl Jhang Yining. Jhang Yining, who replaced the injured, seventh-ranked Yang Ying, won 19-21, 21-12, 21-19.
RESULTS
Men8217;s singles league Round II
Group A: Lui The Taipei bt Ogaki Tomohiko Japan 21-15, 21-12; Lin Zhigang China bt Subhajit Saha India 21-15, 21-18. Group B: Guo Keli China bt S Raman India 21-11, 21-08. Group C: Leung Chuyan Hong Kong bt Hosoi Japan 21-13, 21-15. Group D: Chand Yuan Su Taipei bt Behnam Rahmatpanah Iran 21-13, 19-21, 21-12; Arup Basak India bt Choi Hyun Jin Korea 21-17, 17-21, 21-10.
Women8217;s league Round II
Group A: Takahashi Miyoko Japan bt B Bhuwaneshwari India 18-21, 21-8, 21-8. Group B: Tsui Hsui Li Taipei bt NR Indu India 21-10, 21-10. Group C: Sato Motoko Japan bt MS Mythili India 21-13, 21-16. Group D: Song Au Sim Hong Kong bt Jhang Yining China 21-15, 21-16.
