Slovenia's Darko Jorgic in action at Aspire Academy yesterday.
DOHA: Darko Jorgic yesterday continued his fine form and added another promising win to his collection, battling past China’s Zhou Qihao across six games in second preliminary round at the 2020 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open in Doha.
After a tough fight, the Slovenian star won the match 14-12, 7-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4 at Aspire Academy yesterday.
“I feel really good, it was not easy to beat my opponent. I prepared well, watched some videos with my coach and started well,” said Jorgic.
Also in the men’s singles qualifying, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran used his experience to the maximum against Japan’s latest prodigious Shunsuke Togami, as the Indian won 4-1 (11-3, 7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8) in a splendid performance.
And on table 2 it was a battle between two experienced athletes – where Spain’s Alvaro Robles’ came out on top against Hungary’s Bence Majoros in a brilliant 4-2 (8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3) win.
Meanwhile, Jon Persson is now a step away from the main event in as he won his battle against Serbia’s Zsolt Peto, beating him 4-0 (14-12, 11-5, 11-3, 12-10).
Joining the Swedish international in the third qualifying round will be Slovakian Wang Yang who surprised spectators with a stunning straight games win over China’s Xu Yingbin (11-4, 11-4, 11-6, 11-8).
Anders Lind had a good run of form this morning starting out, as the Austrian took care of Brazilian Thiago Monteiro’s challenge in a powerful win in under 33 minutes (12-10, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9).
For the Belarussian Vladimir Samsonov, France’s Alexandre Cassin was a tough nut to crack but it was one that the veteran found a way around.
In his 4-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4, 11-3) win, Samsonov registered more points on Cassin’s serve and showcased his calmness to dictate the outcome of the match.
“There are many possible reasons I won after today’s match. Of course after Hungary we tried to find out why we lost and prepared better. Could also be that he didn’t play as well today and I played better. Overall it was still not an easy match,” said Samsonov
In women’s singles qualifying, Singapore’s Yu Mengyu entered the final round of qualification, as she beat India’s Sreeja Akula in a quick encounter (11-3, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6).
There was good news also for Portuguese fans, when Shao Jieni defeated Belgian Nathalie Marchetti in straight games, using her attack-minded shots to the maximum (11-9, 11-3, 11-9, 12-10). Margaryta Pesotska had a swift time this morning against Uzbekistan’s Rimma Gufranova, as the Ukrainian star registered a straight games win (11-2, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7).
Meanwhile, Zhang Rui from China displayed her class against tough opposition in Lin Ye from Singapore, as she beat her Asian colleague 4-0 (11-9, 11-3, 11-7, 11-1) in 24 minutes.
“I didn’t expect a 4-0 victory, after all she is one of the top players from Singapore. Having been training in Qatar, of course it is an advantage, getting to know the hall and conditions here,” said Rui.
