Surprises Galore – Day 7: Asian Games 2018

Surprises Galore – Day 7: Asian Games 2018

Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting authored one of many upsets yesterday, as he took down World champion Kento Momota in the third round at the Asian Games 2018.

Ginting, who had to retire in the closing stages of a crackling opening match of the men’s team final on Wednesday, appeared to have recovered quickly, for he surprised second seed Momota, inflicting upon him only his second defeat from the last six events.

Ginting faces China’s Chen Long in the quarter-finals. In the same half, Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen will take on Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long.

It was a good day for Indonesia, with several of their players progressing. Men’s Doubles top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo entered the quarter-finals with some difficulty, as they had to fight off Japan’s Takuto Inoue/Yuki Kaneko 21-16 19-21 21-18. They face Malaysia’s Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong next.

Compatriots Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto also booked a quarter-final place, beating Korea’s Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae 21-18 21-13.

One of the big surprises in Men’s Doubles was the loss of World Championships silver medallists Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda to Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi in three close games.

Former World champions Zhang Nan/Liu Cheng (China) were also shown the door, beaten by Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei/Lee Yang (featured image) 20-22 21-16 21-16.

In Women’s Doubles, World Championships bronze medallists Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu marched into the semi-finals with a narrow 18-21 24-22 21-16 result over China’s Tang Jinhua/Zheng Yu, and will next face Japan’s Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi. In the top half, Japan’s Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota take on China’s Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan.

In Mixed Doubles, third seeds Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir moved one step closer to achieving their gold medal dream, as they stopped Hong Kong’s Lee Chun Hei/Chau Hoi Wah 21-15 17-21 21-16. Their semi-final opponents will be reigning World champions Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong, while in the bottom half, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet face China’s Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping.

The only reverse Indonesia faced in the day was the loss of Women’s Singles prospect Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, at the hands of India’s Pusarla V Sindhu. The third-seeded Indian eased past Tunjung 21-12 21-15 and will next face Thailand’s Nitchaon Jindapol in the quarter-finals.

The top half will see Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying face Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara, while Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanong takes on India’s Saina Nehwal.

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