Korean players are cruising at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender International Table Tennis Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
According to the Korea Table Tennis Association on Wednesday, men’s singles world No. 38 Cho Seung-min defeated Brazilian Calderano Hugo (No. 5) 3-1 (5-11 13-11 11-3 11-9) in his first match of the round of 32, followed by a 3-2 (12-10 4-11 14-12 3-11 11-4) victory over French ace Simone Gaultier (No. 32) in the round of 16.
World No. 8 Jang Woo-jin also won in straight sets. Jang defeated World No. 43 Alvaro Robles (Spain) in the round of 32 and World No. 111 Jules Rolland in the round of 16, both 3-1.
Cho and Jang will face World No. 25 Patrick Franciska (GER) and World No. 26 Chuang Tzu-hsien (CHN) in the quarterfinals, respectively.
In the women’s singles, World No. 71 Lee Eun-hye (Korean Air) and World No. 76 Kim Na-young (POSCO International) advanced to the quarterfinals with four straight wins.
Lee Eun-hye defeated Taiwanese veteran Huang Yu-hua (67th) in a close match in the round of 32, then defeated fellow Korean, World No. 49 Lee Siong (Samsung Life), 3-1 (11-2 4-11 11-4 12-10) in the round of 16.
Kim Nayoung upset her fellow countrywoman, World No. 48 Annette Kaufmann (Germany), before falling to South American powerhouse Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico), 3-1 (11-8 7-11 11-5 11-9).
Lee and Kim will face Bourna Takahashi (BRA – No. 41) and Linda Verström (SWE – No. 47), respectively, in the quarterfinals.
In the men’s doubles, all three pairs that competed advanced to the quarterfinals.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun and Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung (Samsung Life), advanced with ease.
The new pairing of Cho Seung-min and Oh Joon-sung defeated the 2021 World Championships winning pair of Christian Karlsson and Matthias Falk in the first round before upsetting Japan’s Asian Championships team of Mizuki Oikawa and Sora Matsushima in the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, Cho Seung-min-Oh Jun-sung will challenge this year’s World Championships bronze medalists Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung.
Lim Jong-hoon-Ahn Jae-hyun will take on Argentina’s formidable Alto Gaston-Horacio Cifuentes.
In women’s doubles, two pairs advanced to the quarterfinals. Shin Yubin -Jeon Jeon-hee and Choi Hyo-joo -Kim Na-young, who faced each other in the Lima Contender final, reached the quarterfinals side by side.
In the quarterfinals, Shin will face Elisabetta Samara/Bernadette Sötz of Romania and Choi Hyo-joo/Kim Na-young will face Kristina Karlberg/Linda Verström of Sweden.
In mixed doubles, Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yubin reached the final.
The tournament’s No. 1 seeds defeated tricky combinations from Chile and Romania before meeting domestic rivals Jang Woo-jin and Jeon Jeon-hee in the quarterfinals.
The pair swept the match 3-0 (11-5 11-4 11-4) to reach the final.
They will face Spain’s Alvaro Robles-Maria Xiao in the final.
The pair won the Nova Gorica Contender in November last year. They will be looking for their second win in this event.
The WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro 2023 is a Pro Tour event organized by WTT, the International Table Tennis Federation’s governing body for international events.
The WTT Contender is a lower-level event than the WTT Champions and Star Contenders. 토토사이트