Ma Long progressed and so did Ding Ning, the reigning Olympic champions; on Saturday 13th July at the Seamaster 2010 ITTF World Tour Platinum Australian Open in Geelong, hopes of adding to their seemingly endless list gold medal successes remained alive.
However, on a day when the first titles were decided both endured testing times; it was not plain sailing; there was a defeat for Ma Long, a close call for Ding Ning.
…………Sun Yingsha, required qualify, beat Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa, the no.6 seed (11-3, 11-7, 12-10, 12-10).
…………Notably, Sun Yingsha has now won all four meetings this year against Kasumi Ishikawa; previously she won in Doha, Sapporo and Busan.
…………Ding Ning, the no.3 seed, overcame Japan’s Mima Ito, the no.7 seed but was stretched the full seven games (11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8).
…………Success for Ding Ning means she now levels the score in the most recent encounters against Mima Ito; last November she lost in Stockholm before this year winning in Doha before experiencing defeat in Shenzhen.
…………China’s Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, the top seeds, beat Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun, the no.2 seeds (11-6, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6).
…………The win meant Chen Meng and Wang Manyu repeated the success of the previous week in Busan and overall collected their third ITTF World Tour women’s doubles title as a partnership.
…………For Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun, they have now appeared in 18 ITTF World Tour women’s doubles finals as a pair; they have finished runners up 11 times.
…………Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Do Hoi Kem, the no.2 seeds, beat Japan’s Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito (5-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9).
…………A consecutive success for Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem; the previous week they had won in Busan. Overall it was their third such final appearance as a pair; earlier this year in China they had finished in runners up spot.
…………Somewhat differently, for Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito their first appearance as a pairing in an ITTF Word Tour mixed doubles final.
