Olympic Media Notes: Wednesday 28th July Day Four Highlights: Tuesday 27th July Women’s Singles: Round Three Yu Mengyu (SGP), the no.26 seed beat Cheng I-Ching (TPE), the no.4 seed (11-5, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6) but not a major upset; of their now most recent eight meetings on the international scene, Yu Mengyu has won seven times! The only defeat being in 2010 on the ITTF World Tour in Japan. With minimal international experience Liu Juan (USA), the no.68 seed, accounted for Bernadette Szocs (ROU), the no.14 seed (11-4, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3). Experience counted as Liu Jia (AUT), the no.55 seed, now 39 years old, beat Adriana Diaz (PUR), the no.9 seed, 20 years of age (11-4, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9). Britt Eerland (NED), the no.16 seed, recovered from three games to nil to beat Dina Meshref (EGY), the no.19 seed (9-11, 3-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7). Jeon Jihee (KOR), the no.7 seed, was stretched the distance by Yuan Jia Nan (FRA), the no.46 seed (12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-4). Men’s Singles: Round Three Jeoung Youngsik (KOR), the no.10 seed, was extended to seven games by 41-year-old Panagiotis Gionis (GRE), the no.35 seed (7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-6, 14-12). Gustavo Tsuboi (BRA), the no.25 seed, beat Quadri Aruna (NGR), the no.15 seed (13-15, 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6). Only an upset according to numbers; on their one previous meeting, at the Liebherr 2012 World Team Championships, Gustavo Tsuboi had also prevailed. Omar Assar (EGY), the no.28 seed, caused a major upset; he beat Mattias Falck (SWE), the no.6 seed (11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 13-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8). Men’s Singles: Round Four Jeoung Youngsik (KOR), the no.10 seed, upset the order of merit. He beat Timo Boll (GER), the no.8 seed (11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4). It was only the second time in five meetings when Jeoung Youngsik had beaten Timo Boll. Coincidentally the previous occasion was also in Japan, the ITTF World Tour tournament in 2012 in Kobe. Darko Jorgic (SLO), the no.18 seed, broke Japan’s heart; he beat Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN), the no.3 seed (10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7). Hugo Calderano (BRA), the no.4 seed, survived a stern examination by Jang Woojin (KOR), the no.9 seed; he needed the full seven games to succeed (10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7). Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER), the no.7 seed, beat Koki Niwa (JPN), the no.12 seed (11-4, 7-11, 11- 0, 11-7, 11-9) to end Japanese hopes in the men’s singles event. Omar Assar (EGY), the no.28 seed, continued his excellent form to cause yet another upset later in the day. He beat Chuang Chih-Yuan (TPE), the no.19 seed (11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11- 9, 5-11, 11-7). Page 1 Women’s Singles: Round Four Yu Mengyu (SGP), the no.26 seed, continued her outstanding form. She beat Liu Juan (USA), the no.68 seed (11-9, 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-8); thus, matching her performance in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro when losing to Kim Song-I (PRK) in the quarter-finals. Han Ying (GER), the no.12 seed, beat Feng Tianwei (SGP), the no.6 seed (13-11, 11-7, 11-9, 8- 11, 11-8), but it could not be considered an upset. Han Ying (GER) had won all four prior meetings on the international stage. Looking Ahead Men’s Singles: Quarter-Finals Darko Jorgic (SLO) v Lin Yun-Ju (TPE) Darko Jorgic (SLO) excelled in early 2020. He reached the final of the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup, losing to Timo Boll (GER); on the ITTF World Tour in Germany, he lost to Jun Mizutani (JPN), in Hungary, he was beaten by Kristian Karlsson (SWE), in Qatar by Yukiya Uda (JPN). All four are left-handers, just like Lin Yun-Ju (TPE). Could the exception prove the rule? On the only previous meeting on the international stage, the 2016 World Junior Championships in Cape Town, Darko Jorgic (SLO) beat Lin Yun-Ju (TPE). Hugo Calderano (BRA), no.4 seed v Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER), no.7 seed Status favours Hugo Calderano, but in world ranking tournaments Dimitrij Ovtcharov has won both meetings; he prevailed on the ITTF World Tour in 2014 in Qatar and 2019 in the Czech Republic. Both Hugo Calderano (BRA) and Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER) represent the Russian club, TTC Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg Women’s Singles: Quarter-Finals Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN), no.5 seed v Yu Mengyu (SGP), no.26 seed A difference in status but very little between them; Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN) is one ahead in the past world ranking meetings, having won eight of their previous 15 encounters. Yu Mengyu (SGP) won the most recent, the women’s singles semi-final at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Polish Open. Mima Ito (JPN), no.3 seed v Jeon Jihee (KOR), no.7 seed Mima Ito (JPN) has won all four previous meetings against Jeon Jihee in world ranking events. Notably, she beat Jeon Jihee (KOR) at the semi-final stage of the women’s singles event earlier this year at the WTT Star Contender tournament in Qatar. Top Names Men’s Singles: Quarter-Finals Fan Zhendong (CHN), no.1 seed v Jeoung Youngsik (KOR), no.10 seed Fan Zhendong (CHN) has won nine of his ten meetings in world ranking events against Jeoung Youngsik (KOR). Jeoung Youngsik’s only win was in the men’s singles quarter-finals at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Korea Open. Ma Long (CHN), no.2 seed v Omar Assar (EGY), no.28 seed Ma Long (CHN) has won both previous meetings; at the Liebherr Men’s World Cup, he won in 2015 in Halmstad and 2017 in Liège. Women’s Singles: Quarter-Final Chen Meng (CHN), no.1 seed v Doo Hoi Kem (HKG), no.8 seed Chen Meng (CHN) has won all three previous international encounters, notably on each occasion by four games to two. Page 2 Sun Yingsha (CHN), the no.2 seed v Han Ying (GER), the no.12 seed The pair have never met. Sun Yingsha starts as the favourite, but Han Ying has Olympic Games experience; she was the backbone of Germany’s silver medal success at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Player Fast Facts Jeoung Youngsik (KOR) is very different from the traditional Korean male player. He is more robust from the backhand than the forehand. Especially when playing Chinese opponents, at crucial stages, they have focused on his forehand. He has progressed one round further than on debut in Rio de Janeiro; on that occasion, he was beaten in round four by Ma Long, but he gave the champion elect a real scare by winning the opening two games (6-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-1, 13-11, 13-11). The outcome was he received an invitation to compete in the Chinese Super League. Omar Assar is the first player ever from an Arabic speaking country to reach the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event at an Olympic Games. The previous best was in 2012 in London when El-Sayed Lashin (EGY) reached round three losing to Jun Mizutani (JPN). Omar Assar is the second player from Africa to reach the men’s singles last eight; the other is Omar Assar (NGR) in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The best performing woman from an Arabic speaking or African country is Dina Meshref, who lost to Britt Eerland (NED) in the third round in Tokyo. Darko Jorgic (SLO) started to play table in kindergarten when five years old with Natan Urh, whose parents are Jose and Andreja Ojstersek Urh, Slovenian national coaches. They have been his mentors now for 18 years. Andreja’s sister, Vesna Ojstersek, is also a professional coach. Andreja Ojstersek Urh is the coach for Darko at international tournaments. It’s very much a family affair. Darko Jorgic is the first player from Slovenia to reach the quarter-final stage of a men’s singles event at an Olympic Games. Does Tomokazu Harimoto have a problem against players with strong backhands? Against Liam Pitchford (ENG), he has lost three of their four encounters. Now he has lost to Darko Jorgic (SLO). Both Liam Pitchford (ENG) and Darko Jorgic (SLO) are well-known for their powerful backhands. Hugo Calderano (BRA) is the first Brazilian, the first South American and the first Latin American to reach the men’s singles event at an Olympic Games. The only other from the Pan American continent to reach the men’s singles last eight is Johnny Huang (CAN); he was beaten at the quarter-final stage in 1996 in Atlanta by Liu Guoliang (CHN). However, Johnny Huang was born Wenguan Huang (CHN) and hailed from Foshan, having honed his skills in China. Hugo Calderano (BRA) is the only Pan American born player to reach the men’s singles last eight at an Olympic Games. Hugo Calderano (BRA) has a younger sister who has also played for Brazil, Sofia.