ITTF World Table Tennis Championships: Hong Kong’s Doo, Wong win to guarantee medal
But Chinese mixed-doubles top seeds Lin Shidong and Kuai Man are stunned by Japanese 16th seeds
Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi-kem and Wong Chun-ting will return from the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships with a mixed doubles medal, after beating Maria Xiao and Alvaro Robles in the quarter-finals in Doha on Wednesday.
No 3 seeds Doo and Wong dismantled their Spanish opponents, seeded seventh, in just 18 minutes, triumphing in straight sets by an 11-1, 11-5, 11-7 scoreline at the Lusail Sports Arena.
But Chinese top seeds Lin Shidong and Kuai Man suffered an upset in their last-eight match when they were overcome 3-1 by Japan’s 16th seeds Maharu Yoshimura and Satsuki Odo.
Yoshimura, who is ranked world No 73 in men’s singles, fell to his knees and punched the floor in celebration before shedding tears of joy when victory was confirmed.
That convincing defeat of the world’s leading mixed doubles pair did not represent the first scalp of the tournament for Yoshimura and Odo, who will play against Doo and Wong in the last four on Friday.
On Tuesday, the Japanese pair had knocked out the tournament’s No 8 seeds, North Korea’s Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong, also in straight sets.
Ri and Kim won silver at the Paris Olympics, knocking out Doo and Wong 4-3 in the semi-final.